Report says Yahoo's push to hire Katie Couric signals increased efforts to turn company around

By Nicel Jane Avellana

Nov 25, 2013 03:03 AM EST

The move to get Katie Couric on board of Yahoo! Inc was viewed as an accelerated effort by Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer to build the website's content, attract advertising dollars and turn the company around. According to a Bloomberg report, hiring the former anchor of "CBS Evening News" would put a recognizable name to the Yahoo platform to attract viewers and advertisers. Mayer has already hired editor Megan Liberman, gadget reviewer David Progue and political reporter Matt Bai since September, the report said. All of them came from the New York Times Co.

Under Mayer's leadership, shares of Yahoo have increased to over 130%. However, the report added that the website's redesigned email, new product offerings and the hiring of media personalities and engineers have not yet returned growth for the firm. Mayer is currently strengthening Yahoo's news business that will enable it to compete against Facebook Inc and Google Inc and lure advertisers.

People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that an announcement will probably be given this week about the Couric deal. They spoke on the condition of anonymity since the parties had not yet signed the contract.

Opus Research Analyst Greg Sterling said that adding Couric to the team will enable Yahoo to gain a contributor that is already popular among advertisers. He told Bloomberg, "She's a very brand-friendly personality, especially for a female audience. They're looking to get TV-style brand advertisers to spend with them." Couric currently hosts her weekday talk show called "Katie" at ABC.

According to the sources, ABC freed Couric from a deal binding her to produce segments exclusively for the news division of the network for the talks with Yahoo to push through. The sources also said Couric still wants to continue to host her talk show. An emailed statement sent to Bloomberg by Disney-ABC Domestic Television said that the network will decide next month if "Katie" will be renewed for a third season. 

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