Westin also stated that Koppel had refused other possible assignments within ABC and "felt now was the time to leave."

Word within the network had it that Ted was poised to replace George Stephanopoulos as host of the Sunday morning news show "This Week."

"This Week" has had chronic ratings problems and has been losing ground to "Fox News Sunday," hosted by former ABC News correspondent Chris Wallace.

ABC insiders speculated that Ted and George would "swap" programs.

Now NewsMax can report that Ted turned "cold" to the new ABC offers because he is believed to be "in line" for a better "deal" elsewhere ...

At CBS.

Sources at the "Tiffany network" explain that CBS News is "seriously" exploring the option of offering Koppel the former Rather anchor seat on the "CBS Evening News," now hosted by Bob Schieffer.

A fallback position has Koppel replacing Schieffer as the host of "Face the Nation," with Scheiffer remaining at "CBS Evening News."

In the weeks following Rather's departure, Schieffer's ratings have improved, but still lag far behind those of Peter Jennings and Brian Williams.

Of all the possible replacements, it is believed that Koppel not only has the greatest credibility, but also the greatest name recognition.

If Koppel takes the CBS anchor slot, it is expected that - like Rather - he would also be named CBS News managing editor and a correspondent for "60 Minutes."

The second option has Koppel at "Face the Nation" and Washington correspondent for "60 Minutes."

Either option would offer Ted far more exposure than he has been receiving at ABC the past several years.

At the time of the announcement of his departure, Ted's air time at ABC had been reduced to three nights a week on "Nightline."

With "Nightline" in a ratings slump for more than four years, in 2003 executives at ABC's parent, the Walt Disney Company, had been toying with luring David Letterman to the network, which prompted public outcries from Koppel.

Even when Letterman decided to remain at CBS and Disney chief Michael Eisner publicly professed confidence in "Nightline" and Koppel, most ABC insiders believed the "fix was in" both for the program and its anchor.

That was reinforced when in January 2005, ABC News began taping several "pilot" episodes of a "new" "Nightline" show hosted by Jake Tapper and Bill Weir.

The tapings were kept "low-keyed and private" and seen by only a small group within the network.

The Koppel departure comes after ABC gutted most of the news staff from its overnight "World News Now" program last month.

While the program remains on the air, most of its production was transferred to the struggling ABC" News Now" Internet staff. "News Now" recently lost its cable television clearances and can only be seen online and on cellular telephones.

That came on the recent "reassignment" of veteran executive producer Shelly Ross, who had led the resurgence of "Good Morning America" but lately stumbled as she failed to move "PrimeTime Thursday" out of the network ratings cellar.

Ross, a close associate of Diane Sawyer, remains in limbo for now.

The anchorman "sweepstakes" became more complicated on Tuesday morning when ABC announced that "World News Tonight" host Peter Jennings would begin treatment for lung cancer next week.

"It's musical chairs these days," claimed one network staffer.

Stay tuned.

Editor's note: