Ann Curry begs NBC to release her from contract

Ann Curry has had enough with NBC, begging her bosses to release her from her contact so she can make a move over to CNN.

Curry was forced out of her post as co-anchor of TODAY in June with the network reportedly unhappy with the show's declining ratings. She has been reporting for Nightly News with Brian Williams, but now she appears to have a better offer on the table: Anderson Cooper's 8 p.m. slot on CNN.

"Ann wants out of her contract, big time," a source with close knowledge of the situation told Radar Online. "She has formally asked her attorney to explore exit options from the network. However, NBC bosses have indicated they are unwilling to release Ann from the contract. If Ann were to just quit, there is a non-compete clause, which would prohibit her from working for another news outlet for two years."

“Ann's lawyer feels that there is a very strong case to be made that NBC has breached terms of the deal because Curry was demoted from TODAY. Furthermore, Ann has basically been sequestered from appearing on the network. Yes, she has been doing some work that has been assigned to her, but it hasn't been steady," the source added.

Curry's lawyers say she can't just quit, since her contract with NBC has a non-compete clause that would keep her off air on a competitor network for two years.

Since Curry left TODAY, the show's ratings have continued to fall. She has reportedly been slated by former NBC chair Jeff Zucker, now CNN president, to anchor CNN's primetime 8 p.m. hour, freeing Anderson Cooper to move into a role reporting all over the world.