"Late Show" fans can relax because host David Letterman says he's staying with the New York-based show at least through the fall of 2010.
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The network announced Monday that Letterman finalized a deal to stay on with CBS that will last one year longer than NBC's deal with Jay Leno, who has said he will turn over the reins of "The Tonight Show with the Jay Leno" to Conan O'Brien in 2009.
"The Late Show" competes in the same time slot as "The Tonight Show," which generally wins in the ratings, although Letterman's show garners the highly coveted Emmy Award nominations and has won 12 times in his 20 years in late-night television.
Letterman, too, has also consistently ranked higher than Leno in the annual Harris Poll of "Nation's Favorite TV Personality." Letterman ranked second in a 2004 poll, after Oprah Winfrey.
"I'm thrilled to be continuing on at CBS," Letterman said in a statement, adding, "At my age you really don't want to have to learn a new commute."