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Katie Couric doesn't need to sweat her recent poor ratings - judgment day isn't for another year.
At least that's what her boss is saying.
Days after ratings showed the "CBS Evening News" had - for the first time in the two months Couric has headlined the show - slipped below year-earlier ratings, Sean McManus sent out a "no panic" message.
"People who want to judge this as a success or failure after eight or nine weeks, I think are missing the big picture," McManus, president of CBS News & Sports, told The Post.
"Our commitment to Katie is long-term. I have said this from Day 1: I am much more concerned about the ratings in November of 2007, 2008, 2009 than I am in 2006," he said.
McManus, son of sportscasting icon Jim McKay, finds himself in a unique position to impact Couric's numbers. Not since ABC's legendary Roone Arledge, in 1985, has one man held the keys to both network news and sports departments in a year that his network will broadcast television's biggest event, the Super Bowl.
CBS will likely use the Feb. 4 game - reaching tens of million of young viewers - as a re-launch of sorts for Couric. Not only is the 49-year-old former "Today Show" co-host expected to get plenty of drop-in promos throughout the day, but don't be surprised if McManus has her do a pre-game human-interest piece.
"We have tossed around some ideas, but we haven't made that decision yet," McManus, 51, said.
CBS is also devising how much of its expensive ad inventory it will use on Couric. A 30-second spot is selling in the $2.6 million neighborhood for the event that 141.4 million people watched part or all of last year.
While McManus has stressed that changing the habits of network news viewers is a "glacial" process, the initial buzz that surrounded Couric's September debut has faded. For the week of Nov. 6-10, "CBS Evening News" finished with 7.76 million nightly viewers, while NBC pulled in 9.8 million and ABC had 8.82 million.
Seemingly more alarming for CBS was that the "CBS Evening News with Bob Schieffer" in the same week in 2005 had 4 percent more viewers at 8.07 million.
But, says McManus, "No new anchor has ever come into an evening newscast and grown the ratings initially."
Besides the Evening News, McManus has recently dealt with the death of Ed Bradley. McManus said a search for additional "60 Minutes" reporters, not a Bradley replacement, will begin after the New Year.
"The word irreplaceable is appropriate when you are talking about Ed Bradley," McManus said.
While McManus is pumped about having the Super Bowl, he sounded nearly as excited that the NFL - and not the network - is handling the halftime show, which is expected to feature Prince.
When CBS last had the Super Bowl, in 2004, Janet Jackson had her infamous "wardrobe malfunction."
"In many ways, it is a great relief to us to focus on the pre-game programming and the game itself, and not to worry about what happens at halftime," McManus said.
As for Couric, McManus thinks the first quarter has barely begun. "It is a long-term commitment and a long-term strategy and I think, in the end, it will pay off," McManus said.
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