TV Community wonders about Couric's Future

Televisionpoint.com Team
Considering a job change is a tough enough decision. Now imagine if millions of people were watching, with the health of two huge corporations in the balance. Welcome to Katie Couric's holiday season.

Given the millions of dollars NBC's "Today" host stands to make whether she jumps to CBS News or stays, no one will take pity on her. Yet it must be an odd feeling having your life turned into a parlor game, with people in the media world and beyond wondering: will she stay or will she go?

The New York Post is even publishing a "Cour-ometer," with the needle Tuesday pointing strongly toward "Hot for CBS."

"All I will say is I'm figuring out what I want to do and when I want to do it," Couric told TV Guide in an interview released Tuesday. "I'm very fortunate to have some opportunities. It's something I'm thinking long and hard about."

Although Couric said earlier this year she hoped to make a decision in the fall, there's nothing forcing her to do it right away. Her contract with NBC expires in May.

Essentially, Couric must decide whether she wants to continue answering an early alarm clock for television's most popular morning show, or try to revive moribund CBS News by becoming the first woman to solely anchor a network evening news broadcast.

"Wherever she goes, whatever she does, she'll be a major force in the industry and a major force in the organization," said Steve Friedman, former "Today" executive producer. "It's just a case of what she wants to do and where she wants to do it."

Couric started at CNN, but NBC is where she became a star. She became "Today" co-anchor in April 1991. The four-person "Today" team of Couric, Matt Lauer, Ann Curry and Al Roker has been together more than eight years.

This week, NBC is celebrating the unprecedented milestone of 10 years in a row of winning every week in the morning ratings race.

The network would, obviously, love to keep a winning combination together. "Today" is the most lucrative news program on television, a juggernaut that earns NBC some $250 million in profits a year. Given her impact, it could be argued that Couric, who reportedly makes more than $15 million a year, is underpaid.

Couric also formed a solid team with her former executive producer, Jeff Zucker, who has risen to become president of the NBC Universal Television Group.

Couric, 48, could wonder if there's anything left for her to achieve at "Today." Besides the winning streak, "Today," after a change in management, bounced back strongly from last spring, when it was nearly overtaken by ABC's "Good Morning America."

Assuming loyalty counts for something, would NBC have enough to offer that might intrigue Couric should she decide it's time to leave morning television?

Having just installed Brian Williams, 46, as "Nightly News" anchor following a meticulously organized transition, that job would seem to be closed to Couric for the foreseeable future. The "CBS Evening News" is a distant third in the ratings, but the challenge of reviving the broadcast could be an enticing one that, if successful, would burnish Couric's hard-news credentials. The evening anchor is also considered a network's go-to person for big events.

If newsmagazine work is part of the equation, CBS' "60 Minutes" is still the genre's gold standard with a stronger reputation than "Dateline NBC." If Couric wanted her own prime-time show, CBS currently is the more popular network.

Both networks have syndication arms if Couric decides daytime television is eventually for her, although NBC has the fresh failure of "Today" predecessor Jane Pauley's daytime show on its record.

Talk about Couric jumping to CBS has heated up in the past month since Sean McManus was appointed CBS News president. During his years at CBS Sports, McManus built the organization on star power with people like Jim Nantz, Greg Gumbel and Phil Simms and has said he's intent on making CBS News a destination for the industry's biggest names.

Whether Couric decides to leave for CBS, owned by Viacom, or stays at NBC, owned by General Electric, the decision will have big consequences for either company. It will also mean bragging rights for either Zucker or CBS chief Leslie Moonves, two of the industry's most high-profile executives and fervent rivals.

"If Katie were to go off and do something challenging that she couldn't pass up, I'd be happy," Lauer told TV Guide. "And then I would be disappointed and at a loss for what to do. As long as it's for the right reasons and not because she's dissatisfied with anything here at NBC. But it would be a huge loss."