Couric plans to stay as CBS Evening News anchor

By Paul Thomasch

LOS ANGELES, July 18 (Reuters) - Katie Couric said on Friday she intends to keep her job as CBS Evening News anchor, contrary to reports she may leave a nightly broadcast that has struggled to win viewers since her much-publicized arrival.

"We have no plans to part company any time soon," Couric told a gathering of television critics in response to a question about the reports. "There were a lot of speculative pieces that got spun out of control."

Couric's future at CBS came under renewed scrutiny after the Wall Street Journal published a story in April saying she was likely to leave the anchor's chair before her contract expires in 2011, possibly as early as January 2009, after the inauguration of the next U.S. president.

Couric, who co-hosted America's top-rated morning show "Today" on NBC for 15 years, defected to rival CBS amid a torrent of hype in September 2006 to become the first woman solo anchor of a major U.S. network evening newscast.

But after nearly two years with Couric, CBS Evening News remains stuck in third place in the ratings behind competing newscasts on NBC and ABC.

Couric's boss, CBS News and Sports President Sean McManus, insisted on Friday the anchor job was secure with her.

Asked about the possibility of Couric leaving, McManus said it was "not a topic of discussion" at the company. Both he and Couric addressed the gathering of critics via satellite.

Couric, who reportedly earns about $15 million a year, said the focus on her job was "befuddling" and more interesting to the media than the general public.

"I think it's all died down considerably," she added.

CBS is a unit of CBS Corp. (CBS.N), ABC is part of Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) and NBC is majority-owned by General Electric Co. (GE.N). (Editing by Steve Gorman and John O'Callaghan)