CBS's Couric Coup Overblown?

It's front-page news: CBS (NYSE:CBS) CEO Leslie Moonves has snatched Katie Couric away from NBC's Today show and made her the anchor at CBS Evening News.

It seems to be a coup for CBS and a blow to General Electric's (NYSE:GE) NBC. Generating an estimated $500 million in annual ad sales, Today is NBC's biggest source of revenue, according to Bloomberg, and Couric has undoubtedly been a huge part of the show's success.

Still, the deal might not be as big a win as it seems. Howard Stern's departure from CBS's radio waves to Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) seems to have driven home for Moonves the potential gains to be had from landing a big name -- not to mention what can be lost by losing one. But the analogy between Stern's and Couric's moves cannot be carried too far. Stern hasn't fundamentally changed his format, but as anchor, Couric will be taking on a different role from the one she had at Today. And whether the Katie Couric that people will get at CBS Evening News is the Katie Couric that people want is not entirely clear.

As a host of Today, Couric has delivered some serious news, but such segments were interspersed with a whole lot of fluff. Celebrity interviews, cooking demonstrations, and mingling with Today's live audience are staples of the show, and it was in these softer segments, when Couric got to show off her personality, that she won over the program's viewers. In fact, Couric cannot even be described as Today's anchor, given that Ann Curry serves as the show's newsreader.

On CBS, Couric won't have a lot of opportunities to even crack a smile. How does one make the latest bombings in Iraq into lighter fare? Couric will have to play it straight, and her attraction as a symbol of gravitas is largely unproved.

Granted, Couric's position as the first female nightly news anchor also could generate some interest. But CBS probably could have gotten plenty of other women for less than the $13 million to $15 million per year it is reportedly paying Couric. For CBS, this looks like an expensive misuse of talent.

Fool contributor Brian Gorman is a freelance writer in Chicago. He does not own shares of any companies mentioned in this article.