Unnamed CBS News executives and people close to her said in a Wall Street Journal story that "CBS Evening News" anchor Katie Couric might leave her job next January, well before her contract expires in 2011.

CBS and Couric both issued statements downplaying the Journal story but did not deny it.

The report comes as CBS continues to lag in third place in the network news ratings, behind NBC and ABC, 19 months after Couric's much ballyhooed debut as the first woman solo anchor of a major U.S. evening newscast for a salary reportedly worth 15 million U.S. dollars a year.

Couric, 51, the former co-host of NBC's top-rated morning show "Today," may leave CBS as early as next January, soon after the U.S. presidential inauguration, the Journal said in its online edition.

Her five-year contract is set to expire in 2011, the newspaper said. CBS and Couric said they have no plans to alter the way they are now working.

"We are very proud of the 'CBS Evening News' particularly our political coverage, and we have no plans for any changes regarding Katie or the broadcast," the network said in a statement.

A separate statement attributed to Couric said: "I am working hard and having fun. My colleagues continue to impress me with their commitment to the newscast, and I am very proud of the show we put on every day."

Despite the heavy promotion of Couric's hiring and the huge amount of media attention it garnered, CBS has gained little headway in the battle for supremacy among the Big Three network newscasts.