Letterman show to stay on CBS

David Letterman ended 10 days of media speculation about his future Monday night when he announced on his late-night show that he would be staying with CBS. His announcement was greeted with enthusiastic applause, which Letterman then characteristically followed with a joke. "I know it sounds pretty good to you, folks, but there goes the vacation to Disney World," he said. The Walt Disney Co., which owns the ABC network, had made overtures to Letterman in recent weeks about moving his show to ABC. When reports of these negotiations were leaked to the press, it touched off a firestorm within ABC's news division. Disney executives had promised Letterman the time period for its long-running news program "Nightline," but had failed to tell this to "Nightline" anchor Ted Koppel or ABC News chief David Westin. Letterman's new CBS deal will run five years, but he will have a yearly option to retire beginning in 2004. Other terms were not announced, but The New York Times reported that both networks had been offering Letterman about $31.5 million a year. He was making $30 million under his last deal at CBS. Though Letterman praised Disney for being "gracious and generous and very patient," he heaped more praise on Koppel and indicated that one reason he rejected ABC's offer was the effect it would have on "Nightline." He also alluded to the controversy surrounding Disney's decision to jettison a prestigious news program in favor of an entertainment show. "Ted Koppel," Letterman said, "at the very least deserves the right to determine his own professional future. Absolutely no less than that." Koppel reacted to the news by issuing a terse statement in which he described his show as "collateral damage" of ABC's pursuit of Letterman. It appeared that Letterman had patched up things with CBS chief Leslie Moonves. The two men have sparred over matters of promotion and scheduling problems. Their personalities - Moonves the smooth Hollywood insider, Letterman the lonely outsider - reportedly do not mesh well. "I think the hard feelings were overblown," said "Late Show" executive producer Rob Burnett in a telephone interview Monday. "What happened here is that CBS had an opportunity to make a deal with us. That deal didn't get done, and as a result, ABC cropped up." Burnett said that Letterman felt "obliged" to entertain ABC's offer. "It's a nine-year marriage and there are tussles," Burnett said. "They have different priorities sometimes. We got upset when we were delayed because the Grammys ran long. There's a lot of that in any long-term relationship." Letterman had privately complained that CBS wasn't doing enough to promote his show across the spectrum of youthful networks owned by CBS' corporate parent, Viacom, such as UPN, MTV and VH1. Burnett said CBS showed "how badly it wanted Dave to stay" in part by offering broader cross-promotion with Viacom. Still, Letterman couldn't resist getting in a few pokes at his current and future employer Monday night. "CBS, all of the sudden, they can't kiss up to me enough," he said. "I finally got a get-well card for my bypass surgery two years ago." To reach Aaron Barnhart, phone (816) 234-4790 or visit the TV Barn Web site at www.tvbarn.com. @ART CAPTION:Letterman @ART:Photo