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After 15 years as morning television’s queen, Katie Couric told viewers Wednesday she’s leaving to join CBS and become the first woman to solely anchor a network evening newscast. She told that on her 15th anniversary on “Today.” In case you missed Katie Couric???s announcement this morning that she would be leaving the Today Show for CBS. “I wanted to tell all of you out there … that after listening to my heart and my gut … I’ve decided I’ll be leaving ‘Today’ at the end of May,” she said. “I really feel as if we’ve become friends through the years.”
Couric appeared close to tears at times as she made the announcement on “Today.” “Sometimes I think change is a good thing,” she said. “Although it may be terrifying to get out of your comfort zone, it’s very exciting to start a new chapter in your life.”

According to a new poll, audience prefers to see her in the morning. Asked if they would rather see Couric in her longtime role as “Today” host or as the first woman to anchor a network weekday evening newscast on her own, 49 percent favored the morning and 29 percent said evening, according to a poll conducted this week by The Associated Press and TV Guide.
Her audience at “Today” is about 6 million viewers; “CBS Evening News” has about 7.5 million.

Couric, 49, grew up in journalism backstage at CNN, then joined NBC as a
Pentagon reporter in 1989. In April 1991, she was installed next to Bryant Gumbel to wipe away the stain of Deborah Norville’s disastrously brief tenure.
It was a master stroke that earned hundreds of millions for NBC and its parent, General Electric Corp. Couric, paired with Lauer since 1997, will leave next month as the longest-serving “Today” host in the show’s 54-year history. The show is in the 11th year of an unprecedented ratings winning streak.

Couric turned down an offer of about $20 million a year to stay at NBC in order to take CBS’ five-year deal at near her current salary of about $15 million, according to people close to negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because networks do not speak publicly about salaries. She’s also agreed to do “60 Minutes” stories and prime-time specials for CBS. The lure of making history in the evening ??? and an end to pre-dawn wake-up calls ??? proved irresistible.
Her success helped pave the career rise of Jeff Zucker, once Couric’s executive producer and now, as CEO of the NBC Universal Television Group, responsible for overseeing a smooth transition at “Today.”