National and local.

Several national stories recently reported that Katie Couric and the "CBS Evening News" might be looking to end her tenure in the anchor chair.

What would something like that mean for newscasts of the local variety?

"That is a significant bridge [a national newscast] that we hope viewers cross from the 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. [local news] broadcasts," said Larry Audas, president and general manager of the local CBS affiliate, KTHV-TV, Channel 11.

Couric's newscast has fared reasonably well in the Arkansas market, though it trailed the NBC and ABC national newscasts in household ratings for February. ABC's "World News," which airs on KATV-TV, Channel 7, led the three, with an 11.5 rating and 24.1 share in the market. NBC's "Nightly News," airing on affiliate KARK-TV, Channel 4, scored a 10.0 rating and 21.1 share, while Couric's broadcast mustered a 7.9 rating and 16.7 share.

A recent Associated Press story showed that, nationally, ABC's broadcast led with a 5.7 rating and 12 share. NBC's broadcast scored a 5.3 rating and 12 share, and CBS' offering managed a 4.3 rating and 9 share.

"The 'CBS Evening News' and Katie Couric does very well in [our market]," Audas said, using the persons aged 18-49 and women aged 25-54, which Couric's newscast won during the February sweeps.

It's unknown whether KTHV's 5 p.m. newscast's win in those categories affected the ratings for CBS's national newscast, though.

Advertising-wise, Audas said, his station has a small advertising inventory to sell during the national newscast, but the station sells all its own inventory for the two local newscasts that sandwich the national news.