CBS gives up plans for Katie Couric

Posted by Mark Smith On Friday, May 6th 2011 in International

Katie Couric is thinking about a deal with ABC after CBS gave up on its plans to produce a syndicated talk show for the evening news anchor. According to undisclosed sources CBS decided two weeks ago to take back the offer.

"The negotiations just went on way too long," said a person familiar with the situation at CBS. "The deal just kept getting more and more rich, with more and more people involved."

The source also mentioned that Couric wanted to maintain a strong relationship with the news division. This gave room for doubt on her commitment to work on original content for a daily show for upwards of 40 weeks a year.

A source close to the anchor said that the problem was in fact CBS. They were apparently frustrated with the fact that Couric had not accepted the offer on the spot and executives became upset when word leaked that she might go to ABC instead.

"They are now in cover-your-ass mode," said the source. "They were concerned they were so exposed and had presumed she would stay there. If she goes elsewhere, they are going to look bad."

The offer from ABC is real and taken into consideration. It includes a syndicated daily talk show and a role on ABC News, including specials and some election coverage. However the deal has yet to be sealed.

The source close to Couric said CBS now realizes she may go elsewhere and that executives "just want to be able to say that (whoever hired her) is overpaying or overpromising. It's residual stuff. The truth is she decided to leave CBS and they're upset about it."

Both CBS and Couric declined to comment, while ABC could not be contacted.