Katie Couric's talk show was the top new show in syndication, but it will still be cancelled

Couric has had surprisingly rocky career path. As co-host of The Today Show, she was immensely popular, in a role to which she was extremely well-suited. But she managed to use that popularity to succeed downward, taking over the CBS Evening News at the precise moment when people stopped caring about network newscasts. She stepped down in 2011, then launched her eponymous talk show shortly thereafter. But as producers came and went, and the show tried to balance serious news with typical daytime TV fare, Katie's ratings failed to take off.

To make ABC's vote of no confidence worse, the network has no replacement in mind for Katie. If no ideas surface between now and June, it might just save some money by seeing how many people will tune in to that yule log in the offseason.