Katie Couric Will Be Yahoo's New TV Global Anchor: Marissa Mayer Behind New Shows, 'World 3.0' and 'Now I Get It'
Katie Couric is not slowing down any time soon, she's now taking on a role as Yahoo's new global anchor.
Probably the busiest woman in daytime and prime-time TV, Couric started working and developing shows with Yahoo! in January. Her talk show, "Katie," is set to wrap in June.
As Yahoo's new global anchor, Couric will also be debuting two new series for Yahoo! News. At the Yahoo Newfront conference in New York City last week, Couric revealed that she will be hosting two new original interview and video series starting this summer. One is titled "World 3.0," and the other is "Now I Get It."
In "World 3.0," Couric will interview technology leaders, social entrepreneurs, healthcare innovators and scientists. "Now I Get It" is all about the over-sharing world that we live in; the show will try to simplify complicated topics referenced in the news day-to-day through short and shareable videos.
Couric says she is excited about conducting insightful interviews. The interviews that Couric has done for Yahoo to date include speaking with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, actor Bryan Cranston, and President Lyndon B. Johnson's daughters.
Just how Couric got involved with Yahoo! might surprise you. Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer first floated the offer of a TV show to Couric in April 2013 at a Yahoo retreat in Turks and Caicos. The Yahoo! CEO had flown an elite group of thought leaders there for a 48-hour confab, including Couric.
By mid-April, "Katie," the talk show, had started to buckle under the pressure. The show had already cycled through three executive producers, and the costs in the show rose; it was originally budgeted at $50 million, including the $10 million annual salary for Couric. However, "Katie" finished its first season as the No. 1 new talk show, and so far this season is ranking at No. 7 among syndicated talkers. For some, these numbers are not good enough, as The Hollywood Reporter reported.
But Couric, 57, says she has "no regrets." "I've done so many exciting jobs on TV, so I've pretty much tackled everything," Couric said about working with Yahoo! calling it her "step up." "Right now I really don't have a codified relationship with any network," Couric said. Couric is reportedly getting paid $6 million a year to be a global anchor at Yahoo!, The New York Daily News reported in December.