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Vieira to Replace Couric, NBC Prices to Soar during Couric’s Final Week

NBC has quickly patched the hole that will be left in Today when Katie Couric departs the show for CBS’s Evening News with The View’s Meredith Vieira, Media Life writes. Vieira seems the obvious choice for Today: she is similar in age and temperament, and has shown herself capable of discussing “anything from orgasms to organic fruit” during her nine years on ABC’s The View, according to the article.

NBC moved quickly to announce Couric’s replacement in part because, moving into the upfront,  it needed to show advertisers that a plan is in place for the post-Couric years. In the meantime, the network may raise its price by as much as 15 - 20 percent from its current Today advertising rates - up to $78,000 for a 30-second spot - during the last week that Katie Couric remains on the show, according to media agency executives, Mediapost writes.

Couric has been on Today for 15 years and has helped the show generate some $600 million per year in ad sales. Vieira has been courted by ABC and CBS’s morning shows in the past, but had said that she didn’t want to inconvenience her family by making a big switch. Her ABC contract expires July 31, but the network is expected to release her from the contract earlier. Couric’s last day on Today is May 31.