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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Katie Couric Talking To ABC

Katie Couric, whose big-money contract as anchor at CBS ends this summer, has been quietly meeting with ABC, according to sources and Michael Shain at  nypost.com.

Ben Sherwood, who took over as head of ABC News last December, met last month with Couric to discuss what she wants to do when her $15-million-a-year deal with CBS expires.

Reports earlier this month were that Couric is considering starting a daily talk show in 2012 with her old boss, former NBC chairman Jeff Zucker.

But word that ABC is, as one source put it, "kicking the tires," gives the 54-year-old newswoman some new options.

ABC has no natural openings for Couric right now.

Diane Sawyer started anchoring ABC's nightly newscast just 14 months ago -- and with higher ratings than Couric's at CBS.

The former "Today" show host has said she isn't interested in returning to morning TV, and neither "20/20" nor "Nightline" offer the same daily, high-profile exposure needed to justify her hefty salary.

Still, TV news personalities as famous as Couric do not become available very often and Sawyer, who flew to Japan over the weekend to anchor the evening newscast from the site of last week's tsunami disaster, just turned 65 last December.

It is not known how long she may want to stay on the job.

Read more here.

Also Must Read:

BROADCASTING&CABLE: Couric Talker Looking Likely for 2012

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