Why ‘Today Show’ Had To Suddenly Cut To Commercial

The Today Show recently experienced quite an unexpected mishap on Monday morning. The show was forced to take an abrupt commercial break after a streaker quickly sprinted past the studio window. The Today Show‘s three hosts, Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie, and Craig Melvin, were caught completely off guard by the situation. 

The ‘Today Show’ Mishap Explained 

During the show, live, a completely naked pedestrian ran past the Today Show‘s well-known Studio 1A window. The Studio 1A window provides a view of the streets of Midtown Manhattan, which usually features smiling fans or regular traffic passing by. But on the Today Show‘s Monday morning episode, the window featured a rather stark scene when a streaker decided to make his debut appearance on live TV.

Despite how unusual the situation was, Melvin, Kotb, and Guthrie handled it professionally. In fact, all three hosts even joked about the circumstances while cameras were still rolling. “Oh, there was a naked runner,” Melvin casually remarked as he attempted to stay on topic. But Guthrie and Kotb were quick to address the situation in a joking manner. “There he goes!” Guthrie shouted as she pointed at the streaker. Kotb added to her co-hosts comment, questioning, “Where are your clothes?”

Eventually, even Melvin added to the jokes, yelling, “What are you doing?” as he looked out into the street. All the Today Show hosts were understandably shocked and found it challenging to keep their composure on camera. Before the hosts could comment more on the streaker, the television network abruptly cut to commercials. 

STREAKER problems at NBC's "Today" show. There's a brief moment of Full Frontal nudity, and then they cut to ads. (Maybe he was going to keep running past the window?) pic.twitter.com/swxJVCn3EO

— Tim Graham (@TimJGraham) September 20, 2021

Why Did The ‘Today Show’ Cut To Commerical?

Some viewers were confused about why NBC cut to commercials so quickly even after the streaker was out of the shot. Essentially, the Today Show wanted to ensure the pedestrian was out of sight and wouldn’t return for a second appearance on live TV (which he didn’t). 

Fortunately, while the streaker was on camera, most of his bottom half was covered. The crowd control barricades prevented viewers from seeing more than they asked for as the streaker jogged past the show’s set. Just as the Today Show‘s hosts did, people on Twitter immediately addressed the situation in a joking manner. Despite how jaw-dropping the event was, the Today Show hosts handled it the best they knew how.