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Couric’s Loss Not a ‘Disaster’ for NBC

After a long courtship, CBS - which has been recruiting NBC Today show’s Katie Couric to anchor its CBS Evening News - has closed a deal with Couric, CNNMoney.com reports. Some reports say that her compensation may be $15 million a year. Couric will become the first woman to solo host a network evening newscast.

From a business perspective, Couric’s move will not have much of an impact on either network, according to the article. Yes, Today makes more than $500 million in advertising revenue for NBC annually and is immensely profitable, but media buying firms don’t expect that her loss will be a disaster to NBC. And it’s unrealistic to think that simply by bringing Couric aboard CBS will vault the network into the lead of the nightly news ratings.

“No disrespect to Katie,” the article states, “but it just seems preposterous to think that one person can single-handedly alter the fortunes of two major TV networks.”