Do you think Days will be on the air past 2009?

According to the Huffington Post, NBC is going full steam ahead with its plans for a fourth hour of The Today Show, with (gasp!) Kathie Lee Gifford rumored to be serving as anchor.

This doesn’t  bode well for fans of the network’s long-running soap Days of Our Lives, or for viewers who even after almost a decade with Kelly Ripa sitting next to Reege, haven’t gotten over their nightmares of Kathie Lee constantly talking about her children and/or self-promoting her attempts at musical stardom.

In early 2007 NBC Universal president Jeff Zucker alluded that Days probably wouldn’t continue on NBC past 2009 sending shockwaves throughout the industry and fans into a panic. According to Zucker, soaps aren’t as profitable as they once were so it isn’t economical for NBC to stay in the soap business. (Tell that to Bradley Bell, whose Bold and the Beautiful is an international cash cow!)

Rumor has it NBC wants to go with cheaper to produce, higher rated fare, i.e. talk shows which initially brought about talk of a fourth hour of Today assuming Days timeslot. But now with Days on an upswing, thanks to a Sweeps period ratings bump, the return of fan favorite Drake Hogestyn and the show finally focusing in on its core characters, is it really too late to save Days?