Ann Curry Officially Out at NBC's 'Today': See Her Tearful Goodbye

NEW YORK (The Blaze/AP) -- Ann Curry is officially out as "Today" show co-host after one year.

She announced her departure on the show Thursday, ending a week of awkward television as she continued working after word spread that NBC was looking to oust her. The popular morning show is facing its biggest challenge in the ratings from ABC's resurgent "Good Morning America" since the mid-1990s.

She said Thursday would be her last day:

Mediaite describes the scene:

A tearful Curry admitted that this is not how she expected to leave the show, but that she is “grateful” to have been there. Her viewers, she said, are the reason she’s traveled to remote and dangerous places to report on what is happening around the world.

“I love you and I wanted to give you the world,” she said. “And I still do.”

“Thank you, from the bottom of my heart,” she told viewers, apologizing for her tears.

“You have the biggest heart in the business,” Lauer told Curry as she wiped her eyes, looking down.

Al Roker recalled Curry’s excellent, heartfelt reporting on the tsunami, later joking that she is the “Queen of Tweets.”

Savannah Guthrie, her voice quaking, held Curry’s hand as she commended all she has done for military families.

“Can I just say… It’s not good-bye,” added Lauer. “Not by a long shot.”

Curry started as the show's news anchor in 1997, and was promoted last June following Meredith Vieira's exit. But things never really clicked with co-host Matt Lauer. "Today" hadn't lost a week in the ratings since 1996 but this spring lost four times.

NBC's Savannah Guthrie is expected to replace Curry.

On Wednesday, Curry took some parting shots at the network and the show, hinting that she wasn't given enough of a chance.