Sorry, CNN! NBC Won't Let Ann Curry Out Of Her Contract

By Jen Heger - RadarOnline.com Assistant Managing Editor

Former TODAY co-anchor Ann Curry's old boss, Jeff Zucker, has taken over at the helm of CNN and any hopes the popular journalist had of joining him at the fledging cable news channel are going up in smoke because NBC will not let her out of her contract, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting.

"Ann would love to enter formal talks to explore the opportunity of working at CNN for Jeff Zucker, but NBC has told her lawyer that the Peacock network won't let her out of her contract. Ann wouldn't necessarily jump ship because there is just as much tumult at CNN as there is at NBC in the news division,” a source close to the situation tells RadarOnline.com exclusively.

"It's a frustrating situation for Ann because she has been at NBC for over 15 years, but she is basically just being kept in the background, and not being utilized," the insider added.

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Zucker - TODAY’s executive producer and one-time NBC Universal head - has his eye on installing Curry in CNN’s 8 p.m. time slot, which is currently occupied by Anderson Cooper, according to Wednesday’s edition of the New York Post.

The paper says sources say Cooper could then transition to a "Christiane Amanpour role" as a globetrotting correspondent, something Cooper has repeatedly excelled at in the past.

Since Curry’s disastrous departure from TODAY this past summer, ratings on the once-dominant morning program have continually declined, allowing ABC’s rival Good Morning America to capture the #1 spot.

RELATED STORIES:

Take That Matt! Is Ann Curry Headed To CNN?

Matt Lauer 'Obsessively' Watches Good Morning America, As TODAY’s Ratings Keep Sinking

Matt Lauer Will Be Fired From TODAY Show If Ratings Don’t Improve By February!

Fire Matt? Lauer & TODAY Fall To New Low In Ratings War