Katie Couric Leaving 'CBS Evening News' Anchor Chair

Katie Couric is leaving her anchor post at "CBS Evening News" less than five years after becoming the first woman to solely helm a network TV evening newscast.

A network executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Couric has not officially announced her plans, reported the move to The Associated Press on Sunday night. The 54-year-old anchor is expected to launch a syndicated talk show in 2012 and several companies are vying for her services.

Couric's move from NBC's "Today" show was big news in 2006, and she began in the anchor chair with a flourish that September. She tried to incorporate her strengths as an interviewer into a standard evening news format and millions of people who normally didn't watch the news at night checked it out. But they drifted away and the evening newscast reverted to a more traditional broadcast.

After those first few weeks, the "CBS Evening News" settled into third place in the ratings and is well behind leader Brian Williams at NBC's "Nightly News" and second-place Diane Sawyer at ABC's "World News."

Damon Wayans To Star In CBS' Sports Show Comedy Pilot

In one of the biggest talent deals this pilot season, Damon Wayans has been tapped to star in CBS' untitled sports radio show pilot. The multicamera comedy, from veteran writer-producers Bill Martin and Mike Schiff, CBS TV Studios and the Tannenbaum Co., is inspired by ESPN personality Colin Cowherd’s outspoken sports talk show. It centers on Nick (Wayans), an egotistical sports-radio host with a quick wit and cocky likability who is adored by his fans. When he's on the air, Nick says he is "right about everything." But the moment he steps out of the booth, "I'm just a schmuck trying to keep three women from freaking out on me." The deal with Wayans, which took several weeks to close, is said to be for a top-dollar acting fee and a substantial piece of the show's potential backend. On TV, Gersh-repped Wayans most recently starred on ABC's long-running sitcom My Wife and Kids, which he also co-created.

OL Launches New Radio Offering

AOL has launched a new version of its AOL radio that features a redesigned online player, along with 150 CBS Radio stations.

The new player is powered by CBS Radio, and allows users to skip songs, add unlimited channel presets and share streams with AIM users.

Browsers that support Adobe Flash v.9 can access AOL Radio with no sign-up required and users of AIM 6.0 and higher can listen to AOL Radio through the mini-player in their buddy list. Integration with AIM is included in the browser-based player through the “share this” tab, allowing users to share stations they are listening to with their buddies.

AOL Radio users will be able to access a collection of CBS Radio programming including WFAN-AM, 1010 WINS in New York, KLSX and KRQQ in Los Angeles, WXRT in Chicago, and WVEE in Atlanta. AOL Radio includes more than 200 stations in 25 musical categories.

Along with the new player, AOL plans to release downloadable versions of AOL Radio for Winamp and the Mac in the coming weeks, and is working on widgets that will let users access stations directly from other AOL and third-party applications.

“The new AOL Radio underscores AOL’s ongoing commitment to provide users with the best all encompassing radio experience available,” said Kevin Conroy, Executive Vice President, AOL. “With over 350 streams, 150 of them from CBS Radio, AOL Radio is unmatched in breadth of streaming audio content available online.”