"The Today Show" just lost me as a viewer.

NBC did not wait long. One day after Katie Couric announced that she is leaving the "Today" show, the network will announce today that Meredith Vieira is the new co-host of the top-rated morning show.

Vieira, a onetime "60 Minutes correspondent," will be leaving her perch at ABC's all-female talk show, "The View," and will no longer dispense the big bucks on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." Her multi-year package is said to be worth around $40 million.

Vieira was far and away NBC's first choice, although correspondents Campbell Brown and Natalie Morales were also in the running.

Although Vieira was very satisfied with her current situation and concerned about her three children and her husband, Richard M. Cohen, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, she decided after discussions with her family that the "Today" opportunity was too tempting to reject.

Vieira has turned down morning-show offers from CBS and ABC in the past.

I can not tell you how disappointed I am in this decision. Vieira is not the perky fun loving co-anchor that I need to see first thing in the morning. Even thugh I recently read that she does not wear underwear, it is still not enough to get me interested in seeing her with my morning coffee. The least they could have done was get Elisabeth Hasselbeck. I mean even though she is a right wing dimwit, she is easy on the eyes and obviously very perky.

Is my shallow showing?