HOLLYWOOD (REUTERS) — For David Letterman, the address is still CBS.

And for Ted Koppel, ABC’s “Nightline” seems to have dodged a bullet — but for how long remains an open question. Koppel and his “Nightline” producers issued a roughly worded statement demanding clarification of the show’s fate. Ending more than a week of frenzied speculation — as well as ABC’s clearest shot at breaking into the late-night comedy war — Letterman and his reps at Creative Artists Agency reached agreement Monday on a new five-year, $150 million-plus deal that’ll keep him on the network through 2007.

Letterman announced his decision Monday during the taping of his CBS “Late Show.”

“I would like to finish my career — a week from Tuesday — at CBS,” Letterman quipped, noting, “This has not been a very easy decision for me.”

When Letterman’s audience applauded his announcement, the comic shot back, “I know it sounds pretty good to you, folks, but there goes the vacation to Disney World.”

ABC executives had made a bold play to sign Letterman after CBS — perhaps thinking Letterman had no place else to go — failed to reach a new deal with the comic during an exclusive negotiating window.

Word that Disney-owned ABC was willing to dump Koppel’s venerable “Nightline” to make room for Letterman touched off a media firestorm, with critics charging Disney with putting profits over public service. ABC execs countered they couldn’t ignore a chance to boost the network’s bottom line and insisted that the company remains committed to news coverage.

Letterman, who had been on vacation since news of the ABC offer leaked out, didn’t waste much time making up his mind once he returned from his St. Bart’s hideaway. His reps briefed him on each network’s latest offer as well as their respective sales pitches on how they’d do more to hype Letterman’s “Late Show.”

CBS president Les Moonves and Letterman talked at least once Monday, but the network didn’t have an official answer from the Letterman camp until just a few minutes before the start of the “Late Show” taping. ABC was notified around the same time.

“We’re glad Dave is staying at CBS,” Moonves told Daily Variety.

But in a sign that relations between CBS and Letterman’s reps remain somewhat strained, the show cut off the closed-circuit feed from the Ed Sullivan Theater to CBS executives.

In the end, reps for both sides said money wasn’t the central issue in the negotiations; indeed, ABC’s offer may have bested CBS’s on that count, some insiders said.

Instead, Letterman wanted reassurances that whichever network broadcast his show would offer significant promotional support to the “Late Show.” The deal with CBS is said to contain specific clauses guaranteeing such promotion across the various properties of CBS’s Viacom parent, as well as on CBS itself.

There’s also a provision mandating CBS-owned stations shift seamlessly from their local newscasts into “Late Show,” a common technique used to hold onto an audience. And in the few cases each year when CBS’s primetime schedule runs past 11 p.m. for a few minutes, the owned stations will shorten their newscasts so “Late Show” can start on time.

Still, Letterman will also get plenty of coin, pulling in roughly $31.5 million in the first year, with annual increases; CBS will also continue to pick up production costs related to “Late Show” and Letterman’s production outlet, Worldwide Pants. The deal is said to be not substantially richer than Letterman’s previous pact.

Letterman’s reps wouldn’t talk money, but said the new deal was essentially a continuation of his existing one in terms of payment.

Moreover, “If the $31.5 million figure is correct, Dave is well worth that,” said Worldwide Pants topper/”Ed” exec producer Rob Burnett. “If you look at it, the show generates $225 million (in ad revenue) for CBS. That’s not a bad deal.”

During his opening monologue, Letterman made several jokes about the fuss surrounding his future. When he sat down at his desk, he announced his decision to stay at CBS for the rest of his career.

He praised executives at ABC and indicated he would never have talked to the network if he didn’t already believe it was planning to kill “Nightline” no matter what.

“To me, [ABC execs] were gracious and generous and very, very patient,” he said. “Whatever you decide to do at 11:30, I wish you the very best. And my personal hope is that it will continue to be occupied by Ted Koppel and ‘Nightline’ for as long as that guy would like to have that job.”

ABC issued a statement Monday suggesting “Nightline” was staying put — at least in the short term.

“From the outset, we’ve always said that Ted Koppel and ‘Nightline’ would have a significant presence at ABC News,” network president Alex Wallau said. “‘Nightline’ will remain in its time period, where it will continue to provide its distinctive brand of journalism for the network.”

Wallau, however, didn’t say for how long Koppel would stay at 11:35 p.m. Some believe the network will continue to hunt for new late-night opportunities, including “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart or, if he’s interested, comedian Chris Rock.

And Koppel seemed unconvinced by Wallau’s statement, noting that “collateral damage has been done” by ABC’s efforts to woo Letterman.

“We need something more than bland assurances or a short-term guarantee,” Koppel and producers Tom Bettag and Leroy Sievers said in a joint statement. “We need to be able to plan, to prepare, to settle down to work again.

“We hope the corporate leadership of Disney understands that it would not be reasonable to expect all of us at Nightline to continue our work in a climate of ongoing uncertainty,” the statement said.

“There must be a great many talented comedians who would welcome the opportunity to take over the ‘Nightline’ time slot. Our hope is that Disney will send a clear and unmistakable signal to them, to us, to the advertising community and to all of our loyal viewers interested in the robust future of network television news that ‘Nightline’ can count on serious corporate backing.”

Meanwhile, ABC’s statements Monday failed to mention “Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher,” which the network is expected to cancel later this year because of advertiser reaction to Maher’s politically incorrect comments. An ABC spokesman declined comment on the show’s fate.