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Ann Curry confirmed she was leaving as co-host of NBC’s “Today” show after just a year in the high-profile job and following a recent slump in the ratings of the early morning program.

Choking back tears for several minutes, Curry told viewers at the end of Thursday’s program she would be leaving as co-host of the show and taking up a new role reporting from around the world for NBC.

“This is not as I ever expected, to leave this couch after 15 years. But I’m so grateful, especially to all of you who watch,” Curry, 55, told viewers in a reluctant farewell surrounded by solemn co-hosts, including Matt Lauer.

“For all of you who saw me as a ground breaker, I am sorry I could not carry the ball across the finish line. But man, I did try.”

Curry’s departure from the early morning mainstay had been widely expected as she came under sharp scrutiny for the program’s ratings decline.

The show did not announce who would replace her, but The Hollywood Reporter said the job had been offered to Savannah Guthrie, who hosts the show’s third hour.

Curry said she would remain at NBC News as an international correspondent and would still appear on “Today,” as well as participate in the network’s coverage of the Summer Olympic Games, which begins on July 27.

Poor Ann. Everything was working fine until Meredith Viera left. Thank god Natalie Morales isn’t taking over or Matt Lauer would be a divorced man!! Lauer, who is said to have signed a $25 million deal earlier this year to stay with Today, was accused of having an affair with his coworker when they were covering the Winter Olympics in Italy in 2006.

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