Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly is to return on just a periodic basis this spring.

Months after Kelly was left behind while the rest of NBC's top talent flew to South Korea to cover the Winter Olympics, the former Fox host has been dealt another blow with news that her Sunday news magazine has been downgraded from weekly to just 'periodically.'

When Kelly first joined NBC in January 2017, on a highly publicized $23 million contract, Sunday Night was announced as a weekly show.

Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly will return just periodically for the spring and summer seasons

Kelly secured a second interview with Vladimir Putin, titled Confronting Putin, which will air this Friday and serve as a launchpad for the return of Sunday Night

But it kicked off in June to average ratings and mixed reviews and ended after an eight-episode run - the highlight of which was her exclusive sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

There was even speculation that the show might not return to air, but this week, NBC announced that Kelly had secured a second interview with the Russian leader, titled Confronting Putin, which will air this Friday and serve as a launchpad for the return of Sunday Night.

In early clips of the interview, Putin claimed there was no hard evidence that those Russian nationals interfered in the 2016 presidential election and that everything put forward so far, including the indictments handed down by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, amounts to 'yelling and hollering.'

It is not clear what date the news magazine will return to its 7pm Sunday slot, which has been taken up with American Ninja Warrior.

Variety reports that Kelly will anchor Sunday Night for its new run 'periodically' dependent on her schedule for her morning show Megyn Kelly Today, until the football season begins in the fall.

Her morning show has been growing in popularity in recent months, after episodes focused on sexual harassment and gender equality, two major topics in the press recently, helped boost ratings (pictured Jacob Moore speaks with Kelly about abuse at the hands of Larry Nassar)

Kelly initially had a rocky start after joining NBC from Fox last year as her morning talk show, Megyn Kelly Today (pictured) suffered from low ratings and she struggled to get celebrity guests

Kelly had a rocky start after joining NBC from Fox last year as her morning talk show, Megyn Kelly Today, suffered from low ratings and she struggled to get celebrity guests.

Her morning show has been growing in popularity in recent months, after episodes focused on sexual harassment and gender equality, two major topics in the press recently, helped boost ratings.

But its hasn't all gone smoothly for Kelly who reportedly 'threw an Olympic fit' when she was told Katie Couric had been offered the job of covering the Winter Games opening ceremony for NBC.

It was claimed Kelly had insisted that she should not be forced to cover special events as well as her usual responsibilities. But, according to a new report, she was under the impression that the firing of Matt Lauer over sexual misconduct allegations meant she was in line for the big events.

Kelly 'thought she had it all played out perfectly, by saying "No" before the Matt Lauer scandal', according to Page Six.

When Kelly first joined NBC in January 2017, on a highly publicized $23 million contract, Sunday Night (pictured) was announced as a weekly show

Since Matt Lauer's departure, Megyn Kelly (above on set of Today) is now the highest paid on-air personality of NBC

The report - which a separate insider said contained 'zero truth' - continues: '[NBC] was stupid enough to put in her contract that she could say "Yes" or "No".'

It added that Kelly 'complained to her staff' so that the company's chairman, Andrew Lack, would hear about her being upset - but Lack reportedly 'didn't care'.

Page Six's source - supposedly an insider at NBC - said Lack has now come to think of Kelly as a 'diva' who will not become part of the network's 'inner circle'.

Another NBC insider, however, said there was 'zero truth' to the story, adding: '[It's] laughable since the [Winter Olympics opening ceremony is] the least desirable gig in broadcasting'.

This insider also rejected the notion that Lack, who fired Lauer himself, considers Kelly to be a 'diva'.

The source concluded that 'no one at NBC has ever heard him ever use the word "diva" about anyone'.

The Olympic Winter Games - held in Pyeongchang, South Korea - kicked off on February 9 and the network has paid nearly $1 billion to broadcast them.

NBC traditionally sends all its big news stars to the games and this year was no different, with Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker, Natalie Morales, Willie Geist, Craig Melvin, Lester Holt and Dylan Dreyer all traveling out.

Kelly who reportedly 'threw an Olympic fit' when she was told Katie Couric had been offered the job of covering the Winter Games opening ceremony for NBC. She is pictured in the New York studio, being joined in by the hosts of American Ninja Warrior, Matt Iseman (left) and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila (right) while her NBC colleagues were at the Games

NBC's Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie appeared to be having the times of their lives with figure skater Adam Rippon at the Games

Both the Today show and Nightly News broadcast live from South Korea for the duration of the games with most of their programs focusing on Olympics coverage.

The fact Kelly wasn't covering the games didn't go unnoticed and many people speculated why she was left behind, calling it 'embarrassing'.

The Hill media columnist Joe Concha told Fox News: 'It is odd that NBC News would leave its highest-paid host at home.

'Megyn's ratings are improving a bit as the show has focused on the sexual harassment issue, but she could still use the kind of exposure and interviews you only get when physically at the Olympics.'

Sports Illustrated writer Richard Deitsch said he expected every major Today show personality to be on the show because, 'traditionally, NBC brings its highest-profile people, particularly on their morning shows'.

The fact Kelly didn't cover the games didn't gone unnoticed and many people had been speculating as to why she was being left behind, calling it 'embarrassing' (Carson Daly, now-fired Matt Lauer, Hoda Kotb and Megyn Kelly pose for 100 Days Out 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics Celebration on November 1, 2017)

Media analyst Jeff McCall, however, believed Kelly's brand of hard-hitting political journalism didn't fit the mold of the lighter side of programming that the Olympics generally consists of.

That decision did provide a promotion of sorts for Kelly however, who headed up operations in New York City for the three weeks. That role was left to Savannah Guthrie during the 2016 Games in Rio and Hoda Kotb when the 2014 Olympics were held in Sochi.

Kelly landed the coverage for the State of the Union, and while covering some Olympics coverage stateside, also reported on the Florida mass shooting.

She also came under fire recently, after being accused of making staffers cry, running a 'tense' set, and lying to managers to get her way at both Fox and now at NBC, PageSix reported last month.

A high-ranking veteran at NBC, who did not give their name, revealed that staffers frequently 'cry' on the set of Kelly's show.



'She is hated inside the Today Show and is seen as tarnishing the brand, out-of-control and selfish,' the source said.

'The general feeling is that she will not last three years,' the sourced added.

In January Kelly fired Kevin Bleyer, one of her head writers, after he complained about bullying by the show's two top bosses.

The office was described as a 'completely toxic' space.

Bleyer also said that young female assistants were 'abused and harassed' by executives who 'scapegoat' and launched f-word tirades.