Letterman to Stay at Cbs

David Letterman, the American chat-show host, has ended mounting speculation about his defection from CBS to rival TV network ABC by confiding live on air to his Late Show audience that he is to stay put.

In a Monday night monologue, Letterman ended an increasingly frenzied bidding war between the two TV companies by telling viewers he had rejected lucrative offers from ABC and hoped to end his career at CBS.

"We are thrilled that CBS will continue to be the home of David Letterman," Leslie Moonves, the president of CBS, said in a statement. "Without question, he is one of the great talents of our time."

Last week it emerged CBS had offered the talk show host around £22m a year not to leave.

The 54-year-old comedian's current contract with Viacom-owned CBS expires in August. His new deal is expected to be for between three and five years.

But Disney-owned ABC wanted to hire Letterman to replace its serious current affairs programme Nightline, presented by the veteran newsman Ted Koppel.

ABC is believed to have offered a substantial increase to Letterman's current salary of £20m a year, or £105,000 for each hour of his show.

The news caused a national outcry in the US, where it was seen as a further sign of broadcasters' lack of interest in serious news programmes.

Koppel, who is understood to earn about £5.6m a year, hinted that he may not continue.

The Nightline presenter said the bid for Letterman had damaged his show and that it would be unreasonable to expect people at Nightline to continue working in a climate of uncertainty.

But Alex Wallau, the ABC president, said: "We invest a tremendous amount of money to make our news brand and support our people in the news division, and give them the ability to be the best news division that can possibly exist."