Peter Alexander is stepping away from NBC News after 22 years with the network, including his long-running role as co-host of Saturday TODAY.
The 49-year-old announced his departure on-air March 28, saying he plans to focus more on time with his family and pursue new opportunities. Alexander lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Alison Starling, and their two daughters, Ava, 12, and Emma, 10. His weekend hosting duties required frequent travel to New York City, where Saturday TODAY is broadcast from Studio 1A at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
“I’ve been away from home more than 80 nights in the last seven months. More than 200 Friday nights away from my family in the last seven years,” Alexander said. “So, in this limited window before my daughters lose interest in hanging out with me…I’m eager to carve out a better balance between my personal and professional lives.”
Page Six reported that, beyond the workload, Alexander had grown frustrated about being passed over for higher-profile roles on flagship programs like Today and Nightly News.
“He’d be the first to say he’s had ambitions for the top anchor jobs, and with all of those spots recently filled, he’s going to try something new,” the source said per Page Six.
Alexander, who also serves as NBC’s chief White House correspondent, took over the Saturday TODAY anchor role in 2018 after Craig Melvin stepped aside to focus on a larger weekday presence at the network’s flagship morning show. At the time, sources said Melvin’s move was part of an effort to elevate him during the week.
Melvin has since become a leading figure on Today, while other top roles across NBC News have also been filled in recent years. Tom Llamas was tapped to anchor Nightly News, Kristen Welker was named moderator of Meet the Press, and Hallie Jackson took over Weekend Nightly News — leaving few opportunities for Alexander to move into one of the network’s most prominent positions.
Peter Alexander joined Saturday TODAY in October 2018, and in 2021 he was named NBC’s co-chief White House correspondent alongside Kristen Welker. The two co-hosted Saturday TODAY together from 2020 to 2023, before Welker took over as moderator of Meet the Press following Chuck Todd’s departure.
After that, Alexander began co-anchoring with Laura Jarrett, who joined NBC in January 2023 as a senior legal correspondent.
Alexander has been with NBC News since 2004. He has said his big break came when he secured an interview with former Cuban President Fidel Castro. From there, he covered major global events, including Iraq’s 2005 election and the death of Osama bin Laden, reporting from places like Baghdad, Banda Aceh and Beijing.
He marked his 20th anniversary with NBC in August 2024, noting that he never expected to become a political reporter.
“What I learned the most is what it means to be a storyteller,” he said per Today. “I really feel like we have a higher responsibility doing this for a living. Being journalists, you have the trust of the audience, the trust of the people whose stories you’re telling. That’s something that I take so seriously.”
