There was buzz surrounding Katie Couric’s daytime show long before ABC actually announced the recent ex-CBS Evening News host would be returning to her roots. Since Couric had success as a daytime host on Today in the late nineties and early to mid 2000s, it stands to reason her new program, Katie, could find equal success.
At least that seems to be the thinking of many TV stations across the country. According to Deadline, 80% of the U.S. has picked up Couric’s new program, with stations including some of the bigger broadcast groups, like Granite and Sinclair. Deadline also indicated that 55 of the 60 biggest markets have been secured to air Katie. With such a high number of markets falling over each other to syndicate the show, the expectations for Katie seem pretty high. Which is great news for the anchor who will be getting the best of both worlds -- daytime TV and the occasional Nightline evening piece.
Of course, we will actually have to wait until next fall to see if Couric will pull out the big ratings numbers, but she is certainly sitting pretty in her current position. Anderson Cooper, look out. You have a fierce competitor looming over your soft news horizon. You have under a year to secure viewership before Katie hits the airwaves. With Steve Harvey, Jeff Probst, and Ricki Lake also prepping to begin production on daytime programs for next season, the competition looks pretty intense.
