CBS may have no other option but to sign evening news anchor Katie Couric to a new contract despite her ratings which touched a 20-year low in August.

From the Daily Beast

In hindsight, Couric recognizes that her initial revamping of the broadcast—larding it with guest commentaries and nine-minute interviews with the likes of Michael J. Fox—was a miscalculation. “The notion of radical change for an evening newscast, that idea was probably exciting but less doable than I anticipated, given the fragmentation of the audience and the time of the show and the demographics of the audience,” she says. The backlash eroded her confidence for a time and led her to conclude that the job was not a great fit. But she made adjustments, and now just tinkers around the edges.

The elephant in the studio, of course, is Couric’s future. When CBS Chief Executive Les Moonves recently made his end-of-an-era declaration that “the Katie Couric deal will be the last deal of that kind ever done,” he touched off a new round of speculation.

Couric deflects the question, saying: “I’ve never really talked about my salary. I think a lot of people in my business are paid handsomely.” When pressed, she remains cautious: “How the economic paradigm is going to change in the future, I don’t know.”

For some time now, network handicappers have assumed that Couric is on her way out. But insiders say there is now a good chance that she will sign a new deal with CBS that carries her at least through the 2012 elections. She is said to understand that her stratospheric salary would have to come down to earth.

CBS has no clear Plan B—one prospect, Anderson Cooper, recently signed a long-term deal with CNN—so the two sides may not be headed for divorce court after all. Couric has some prominent detractors at CBS News. But Moonves, the only person whose vote counts, remains close to her, and she has developed a stronger relationship with CBS News President Sean McManus.

The argument made by some insiders is that after the bumpy ride of the first couple of years, Couric is now invested in the place and CBS, which also features her on 60 Minutes, is invested in her. I would add this: If Couric leaves after her first contract, she will be viewed like a one-term president. It would take more years in the chair to buttress her anchor cred.

She is, of course, weighing other feelers and offers. Couric could start a syndicated daytime show, or start her own production company. NBC, when Comcast takes over, could put together an attractive package, though it’s unlikely she’d go back to the early-morning grind of the Today show. CNN is still said to be interested in her. And a potential deal with CBS could still fall apart over money.

Couric claims to be too busy with the campaign to focus on What Comes Next: “Obviously, I’m going to figure out where I think I could have a role, a strong role. I’ll have to think long and hard about the choices I have going forward.” But she makes sure to add: “I love my job at CBS.”

Since Couric signed her last contract the network news landscape has changed dramatically with viewers abandoning the evening news programs for cable  or more frequently the internet.

If Couric wants to stick with hard news then she too has few options but CBS hasn’t groomed anyone as her successor either so resigning her may be more of an act of desperation than anything else.

The CBS-Couric marriage is no longer one made in heaven as network execs thought a few years ago but one of necessity as it buys CBS time to figure how to regain its competitive edge.

Share This

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

About the author

11 Comments for CBS May Be Stuck With Couric