NBC knew the other stories were about to drop and decided to can him before they did. Like Conyers, there had been rumors and talk about Lauer for years but no one did anything about it.
Via Fortune:
The speed at which Today Show host Matt Lauer was fired was stunning—not only because of his long tenure at NBC, but because of his status as one of the network’s most prominent faces.
But behind the scenes, NBC officials were apparently worried about a looming bombshell about the anchor that would have caused a public relations disaster and decided to act proactively. Two reporters at Variety confirmed they had been working on a story about sexual harassment allegations against Lauer for more than two months. And Brian Stelter of CNN’s Reliable Sources says The New York Times was nearing publication on one as well. NBC management was reportedly aware that both stories were close to being published.
The Variety reporters say their research revealed multiple victims.