Ryan Seacrest joins NBC; Lauer asks: Are you taking my job?

Continuing an unusually busy week for the nation's morning shows, Ryan Seacrest announced on the "Today" show on Wednesday that he is joining NBC.

Seacrest, who has long been rumored to be a potential replacement for Matt Lauer, made the announcement in an an exhaustively hyped segment with his would-be predecessor.

"I've worked with the E! network for years and NBC Universal and E! are in the same family," Seacrest said. "The plan is for me to join the NBC family and continue to have a role at the E! network. The first assignment will be to join the prime-time team for the Olympics on NBC."

Lauer asked Seacrest if the E! star was after his "Today" show job: "What kind of conversations have you had with NBC about joining the 'Today' show?"

"Oh, they didn't tell you?" Seacrest joked.

The "American Idol" host—who said he plans to stay with the show after his contract is up at the end of the season—then turned the tables on Lauer.

"The question is: How long will you be on the 'Today' show?" Seacrest asked him.

Lauer dodged the question. "Can I say something? I think you'd be great at this job," he said, adding, "We have talked about this, joked about this. There is no tension here."

The Seacrest segment came a day after Sarah Palin co-hosted an hour of the "Today" show.

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