Better days had better be ahead for Katie Couric, because so far, she has been a big disappointment for CBS. The statistics tell the story. For the week ended March 30, ABC's evening news show brought in 7.9 million viewers, while NBC pulled 8.1 million viewers and Katie -- who gets paid north of $15 million a year to sit in a chair a half-hour each weekday - managed all of 6.2 million. The old-guard network news broadcasts are having a tough time competing against cable news networks, not to mention all manner of Web outlets. The trade says …

Retailer Toys "R" Us has focused its search for a new ad agency on three shops: Omnicom's DDB, Chicago; Interpublic's Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, Boston; and independent Richards Group, Dallas. Leo Burnett, Chicago, and McCann Erickson, New York, have been bounced form the battle for the account, once handled by Young & Rubicam, New York. A McCann spokeswoman says that agency withdrew in March, but none of the others would comment. Toys "R" Us spent $85.4 on measured media during 2006, up from $79.3 million the year before, according to TNS Media Intelligence. Media buying and planning is done …

NBC is getting wide acceptance from its affiliates for an expanded "Today," with about 90% of them clearing a fourth hour of the show. The trend is something of a surprise, as many were expected to resist handing over another hour of programming to the network. "We're in good shape," says John Damiano, executive vice president, affiliate relations at NBC Universal. About 60% of NBC's 230 affiliates have already agreed to air the fourth hour at 10 a.m., with another 20% clearing it for 11 a.m., and 10% willing to do it at another time. Even the final …

ABC's "World News Tonight" is being presented by a single advertiser each Monday in April, leaving only three minutes of ads instead of eight. And the trend seems to be spreading into other kinds of programming. The longer time means more in-depth stories, and it has proved popular with viewers. Executive producer Jon Banner says the April 2 broadcast got a ratings boost, as did the "NBC Nightly News" last December, when Philips Electronics was its sole sponsor one day. "I don't know a thing about finance, and I don't know how bills get paid around here, …

The furor over Don Imus' racist "joke" that got him suspended from the airwaves for two weeks has also driven away some of the show's sponsors. Office-supply retailer Staples, along with the Bigelow Tea Company, were the first to go, ending their relationships with Imus and his program. "While Bigelow Tea has been an advertiser on the "Imus in the Morning" show, the company does not condone or support in any way the unacceptable comments made by Imus with regard to the Rutgers University women's basketball team," says Cindi Bigelow, the company's co-president. She adds that …

"Catherine Crier Live" has been thrown out of Court TV after a seven year stint as the cable net looks to run more entertainment fare in prime time. The show, which premiered in January 2000, didn't fit with Court TV's focus on unscripted drama. Plus, Crier's contract was up. Last month, the net announced it will change its name and programming, starting next year as it tries to hit a psychographic it calls "Real Engagers," people who like action-based reality shows. Such shows have raised the network's profile with viewers and pushed it into the top 10. …

Nike's Converse brand has split with Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners, the agency that pushed it to be among the first big marketers to use consumer-generated content in ads. "We have mutually agreed to part ways with Converse. We are proud of the business results, awards and the national prominence that we have achieved for the brand," says Greg Stern, CEO at Butler, Shine. Converse had nothing to say publicly, but insiders say the two had been trying to cut a new deal for months. It is not yet known whether the company plans a review for the …

The Tampa Tribune will fire about 70 employees as it retreats from some Florida counties, combines newspaper sections and gets rid of daily zoning. Instead, it will launch "hyper-local" Web sites and trim the width of its print product. "Our newspaper is experiencing the challenges of changing reader needs and fundamental shifts in spending by our traditional advertisers," says president and publisher Denise Palmer. "We are reducing resources in areas that are in decline and investing in areas of growth, including local news and the Internet." She adds that the paper will also reduce its page …

Actor Tom Selleck is in talks to join NBC's "Las Vegas" as the show's new star. He would play the new owner of Montecito Resort & Casino, a character designed to fill the gap left by the departure of James Caan, who played the head of the casino's surveillance team for four years. "Vegas," from NBC Universal TV Studio and DreamWorks TV, has signed on for a fifth season and is set to begin production soon. The show is also looking to add a female concierge after the departure of co-star Nikki Cox. If he gets it, Selleck's starring …

Divorced couples will play matchmaker for each other in a new reality show by Bravo. The cable net is readying the pilot for "Take My Ex," an hour-long show where each episode focuses on a recently split pair, looking at both good times and bad and getting them to find better mates. Currently in development, the show comes from Sam Mettler, the creator/executive producer of A&E's "Intervention," the show in which boozers and druggies are confronted by loved ones. The new show "explores relationships between couples and the fundamentals of a couple that has split up, what attracted …