A frontrunner has emerged in the battle to land Katie Couric once her current CBS contract expires, B&C reports.

And that frontrunner is … CBS, the report says. The current betting, says the story, is that Couric would do a daytime talk show starting in the fall of 2012  to be sold by CBS Television Distribution.

CBS has an advantage with negotiations, since its clause in its contract with Couric gives the company the right to match any offer she gets before her contract expires on June 4, the story notes.

CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves is backing the effort to keep Couric at the company and has been involved in negotiations, the story says. Nevertheless, even though CBS appears to be the frontrunner, other companies are still in the picture, with NBC remaining interested and Warner Bros. also pitching its ability to take the talk show to market, the article adds.