Katie Couric, CBS News to Part Ways Before Contract Expires?:

CBS News may be ready to part ways with ‘CBS Evening News’ host Katie Couric, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

CBS executives and people close to Couric say she could leave the network after the presidential inauguration early next year, well before her contract expires in 2011, the Journal reports.

Ratings for the ‘CBS Evening News’ trail rival newscasts on ABC and NBC by wide margins, despite the fanfare that accompanied Couric’s arrival to the network in June of 2006, the Journal reports.

I don't buy this report. This marks about the 7th time in as many months that I've heard a rumor putting Katie and CBS at odds. As we pointed out last week, her ratings have been slowly creeping back and her contract doesn't end for years. The money is already spent and there is no magic resolution to this problem. What's the alternative here? Are they going to put Bob Shieffer back in the seat at 71-years-old? He doesn't even want the job. The other viable options (Anderson Cooper, John Roberts) don't seem like an immediate antidote to their ratings problems. I say Katie stays.

Most of this nonsense is being stirred up internally from people, like Shieffer, who have an axe to grind. CBS should stick to selling the brand over the ratings until they can once again become a viable dog in the race. Katie can make a move to 60 minutes in 2011.

Update: The WSJ also says Couric may replace Larry King on CNN.

From 4.5 Million To 6.4 Million Viewers In Just Six Months:



Granted, it's a slow crawl back from the depths but it's a crawl none the less. Six months ago the entire media world was predicting a prompt replacement of Katie Couric. I remember watching her broadcasts go downhill as she tried to shoehorn long interview pieces into 'Evening News.' It was her attempt to step out of the haunted shadows of her predecessor Dan Rather and it failed miserably.

I watch all three evening newscasts, simultaneously. I watch, on any given night, as all three broadcast news heavyweights lead with the same predictable story. I watch as piece after piece, anything from medical research stories to water cooler topics, is mirrored on all three networks with few exceptions. Brian Williams is your friend next door, Charlie Gibson is your well-informed grandfather and Katie Couric is... well Katie's different. She doesn't fit the mold. Her delivery is awkward and her interview skills are lackluster. Her producers, however, have found a way to finally make some ratings gains... Timing. More specifically, commercial block timing.



NBC doesn't take their first commercial break until about :47 after the hour. That's a lead-off segment that is only surpassed by ABC who doesn't take that break until closer to :49 after. Couric and CBS take their first break much earlier, around :44 after. Why would they shorten their first segment so drastically? In an attempt to grab viewers who channel surf as the other two newscasts take their first commercial breaks. This strategy seems to be working.

In just six short months Couric has gained nearly 2 million viewers. CBS News is still in third place by a wide margin (about 1.8 million viewers) but, if this rate of growth continues, she could close that gap in another six months. To be fair, the competition has seen some decent gains as well but not as large as Katie's. CBS obviously had more ground to gain after hitting rock bottom in September with only 4.5 million viewers but that doesn't make this unimpressive.

The critics were loud and plentiful after Katie's initial ratings bounce faded, and the bottom fell out at CBS News, but they are silent and nonexistent in penning her slow assent. Alright, so she's not the 'ratings juggernaut' they once hoped she would be but she's sticking it out and making some gains. Who knows, maybe 6 months from now Williams and Gibson will be in her rear-view mirror?

Williams and Gibson Battle For First, Couric Still Third:

Total Viewers: NBC: 8,920,000 / ABC: 8,460,000 / CBS: 6,620,000

25-54 demo: ABC: 2,650,000 / NBC: 2,570,000 / CBS: 2,220,000

25-54 rating: ABC: 2.2/9 / NBC: 2.1/8 / CBS: 1.8/7