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One of the longest guessing games in TV news -- whether NBC Today star Katie Couric will leave to join The CBS Evening News as the first solo female network news anchor -- appears to have been resolved.
Couric and CBS have tentatively reached a deal that could be announced any day now, but probably by the end of the week, two sources close to the negotiations said Monday.
The deal calls for Couric -- arguably the biggest star in network news -- to anchor the third-place Evening News, contribute to newsmagazine 60 Minutes and have some yet-to-be-announced prime-time role, possibly producing specials, the sources said.
Neither NBC nor CBS would comment Monday. Couric makes about $15 million a year at NBC, making her the highest paid anchor in television. CBS' offer is expected to top that.
Meredith Vieira, a former 60 Minutes correspondent who currently hosts ABC's The View and the daytime version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, has emerged as the leading candidate to replace Couric and join co-anchor Matt Lauer on Today.
Couric and NBC will work out the timing of her departure to allow the network to bid her a fond on-air farewell. She'll leave after having made NBC hundreds of millions of dollars in ad revenue and making Today No. 1 with more than 6 million viewers.
Speculation about Couric leaving NBC has been intense for almost a year, ever since she confirmed that CBS chief Leslie Moonves was courting her. Contractually Couric, whose contract with NBC expires on May 31, could not negotiate with CBS until next month. And at a press conference with reporters in December to discuss Today's 10 straight years in first place, Couric shut down any questions about her future.
But it was in both networks' benefit to settle the issue in advance of the networks' annual upfront presentations to advertisers, as which fall lineups are announced.
Moonves has said that he would like to get away from the "voice of God" network news anchor. Couric, known for her outgoing and friendly interviewing skills, would fit that bill.
Couric, 49, would officially replace Dan Rather on the Evening News, but in fact she would replace Bob Schieffer, 69, who has served as interim anchor for the past 13 months.
During Schieffer's tenure, producers have promoted new, younger correspondents on the broadcast, which has gained about 700,000 viewers in the past year while No. 1-rated NBC Nightly News and ABC's World News Tonight have both lost viewers.
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