Another network switch for Dave?

[AKA]

ABC: Hello Dave, Goodbye Ted?
by Mark Armstrong
E! Online

For Dave fans, this could be CBS' stupidest human trick yet.

With David Letterman's contract expiring this summer--and CBS failing to seal a deal--the late-night giant is now in talks to jump to ABC, The New York Times reports.

In turn, ABC's move could topple Koppel: The network would most likely cancel or move Ted Koppel's late-night institution Nightline to make room for Letterman at 11:30 p.m., in an attempt to draw a younger audience.

ABC also would probably rid itself of Bill Maher's Politically Incorrect in the shuffle.

Neither ABC nor CBS would comment Friday. The Times reports that ABC made a "strong bid" this week to woo Letterman, who felt "alienated" after CBS failed to renew his Late Show contract during an exclusive negotiating period.

"CBS tried to strong-arm him and alienated him and everybody else on his side," one unnamed executive told the Times. "They were convinced he had nowhere else to go."

Already, things apparently hadn't been too peachy between Letterman and CBS. The Late Show host reportedly had beefs over the amount of network promotion he was receiving, not to mention the weak lead-in ratings generated by many of CBS' local newscasts. Letterman's relationship with network honcho Les Moonves hasn't exactly been cozy, either.

ABC, meanwhile, has been searching for a way steal younger viewers away from NBC and CBS and grab a bigger stake in the late-night world. While Nightline's audience is about the same as the Late Show, Letterman performs much better among adults 18-49, the demographic prized by advertisers.

Koppel, however, is reportedly furious over ABC's discussions, and ABC News execs weren't even aware of how Nightline would be affected until the Times and the Washington Post contacted them Thursday night.

The Post's Howard Kurtz reports that ABC's News division views the talks as "a slap in the face to one of the most important and successful journalists in television--even if it means landing an entertainer of Letterman's stature."

Other ABC execs, however, pointed out that the news veteran has already cut back his involvement in the show. "Ted is not doing the show every night, and Ted is the show," one said.

According to the Times, one major factor in ABC's talks remains Letterman's concern over being responsible for booting Koppel and Nightline from the timeslot. ABC insists it's been searching for something to replace the 22-year-old news show and the always-controversial Politically Incorrect since last summer, long before it started courting Letterman.

Of course, all of this might sound oddly familiar. Letterman, who just celebrated his 20th anniversary in late-night, joined CBS in 1993 after NBC chose Jay Leno over him to replace Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show.

Leno and Letterman have been battling for ratings ever since, with the Tonight Show primarily holding onto first place with an average of 6 million viewers. But the Late Show's ratings have been on the upswing: The show pulls in 4.4 million viewers a night and is up 12 percent among adults 18-49 compared to last season.