Couric Signs New NBC Contract

“Today” show anchor Katie Couric ended her courtship dance and signed a new contract Wednesday that will keep her at NBC News--and could make Couric, 44, the highest-paid personality in TV news.

The agreement, finalized well ahead of the May 2002 expiration of her current deal, comes as the first-place morning show is preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary Jan. 14.

Couric, who was named an anchor of the show in April 1991, reportedly already makes about $10 million annually, and industry sources pegged her new deal--which includes some prime-time specials and newsmagazine reports--at being worth $13 million to $16 million a year. General Electric Co.-owned NBC declined to disclose the terms, with NBC President Andy Lack calling the deal “a big hug.”

There has been nervousness in the industry that Couric’s closely watched negotiations will lead to increased salary demands from colleagues as well as NBC’s rivals. Such a ripple effect would drive up industry costs at a time when the TV news business can ill afford it. Advertising revenue is down as networks are sending staff to cover events in Afghanistan and elsewhere, adding millions to already tight budgets.

The salary of ABC’s Barbara Walters probably would be the closest to Couric’s reported pay level, though Walters’ compensation structure is more complex, including both her popular interview specials and daytime series “The View,” which is produced through her company.

NBC was anxious to keep Couric on “Today,” which generates more than $400 million in revenue annually but has been uncharacteristically wobbly in the ratings in recent months, as rivals--particularly Walt Disney-owned ABC’s “Good Morning America”--have narrowed “Today’s” lead. Some management changes are expected at the program to shore it up, but network executives said they were not tied to Couric’s new contract. “There is no quid pro quo,” said one network executive.

Many network insiders had expected Couric to stay at the show for only a year to 18 months before making the transition to some sort of daytime talk show, a project Couric had expressed interest in during her conversations with Hollywood studios over the last year.

The new deal doesn’t include a talk show, but it does allow Couric the freedom to “leave ‘Today’ at any time,” said Alan Berger of Creative Artists Agency, who represents her.

That said, Couric, Berger and NBC executives stressed that the anchor has expressed her intention of staying with “Today.” Still, if at some point she chooses to do something different, the contract stipulates she will pursue the project with NBC.

“This is a deal built around doing the ‘Today’ show,” said Lack, “which is what she wanted to do. She spent, understandably, a period of time exploring all options, other things to do outside the ‘Today’ show, but I think she decided that whatever she wanted to do, she wanted to do at NBC.... She certainly could have gotten more money and a fancier deal somewhere else, but she wanted to be at NBC and be with us, and I appreciate this.”

Lack said that if Couric eventually decides that it’s time to leave, “There is enough flexibility and opportunity with NBC to pursue some other alternative, whether it is prime time or daytime.”

For her part, Couric told the Associated Press that she “owed it to myself” to explore all available options before making a decision, but ultimately, “I would love to stay at the ‘Today’ show as long as they want me, and as long as I feel like I’m doing fun, exciting work.”

Couric’s workweek going forward will get slightly easier: She and co-anchor Matt Lauer will go back to playing a more limited role in the “Today” show’s third hour, as they originally had when the program was expanded a year ago. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, their role in the third hour had increased.

The new contract comes as TV networks are holding the line on raises and even laying off some mid-level employees. The assumption has been that proven stars will continue to command high salaries while networks take a tougherstance with lesser-known talent--an approach mirrored in feature films and prime-time television shows.

Lack said the Couric deal is “a unique arrangement. In our business, there are always a handful of people who get really special arrangements in which they are very highly compensated, as they should be.” Asked whether Couric’s co-anchor Lauer will get a raise, Lack said, “Matt should not worry that he will be underpaid going forward with ‘Today.”’