Meredith Vieira hasn’t even been on the Today show a year, and she already wants to jump ship.

Meredith Vieira Wants Out!

Meredith, 53, left The View last May and joined Matt Lauer on the NBC morning show in September 2006, replacing Katie Couric. But she’s not happy at Today, and there are “a lot of rumblings that she’s looking to leave at the end of next season,� says a show source.

“Meredith told me she’s already planning her exit strategy so she can leave Today with her dignity intact,� a friend reveals. “For her, it’s been a noble experiment that hasn’t worked as well as she had hoped.�

Meredith signed a sweet four-year, $10 million contract when she took the morning news job. But she has apparently decided that money isn’t everything.

While she’s been putting in overtime trying to make a success of it on Today, she misses her husband of 21 years, journalist Richard Cohen, and her teenage children Benjamin, Gabriel and Lily, a friend says.

“Meredith has always been torn between her family and her career,� the pal explains. “She carriers around a lot of guilt about not being home to see her kids off in the morning and coming home dragging her behind at the end of her workday.�

The Today gig has been a bumpy ride for Meredith. After an initial ratings spike, which an insider attributes to viewer curiosity, ratings have been up and down. Recent numbers reveal that Today show viewership has dropped about 9 percent from last year. On the bright side, the show remains No. 1 in the morning news wars, about 500,000 viewers ahead of its closest competitor, ABC’s Good Morning America.

“I think the network was hoping for a little more, that Meredith would reenergize the show and attract more viewers,� says a source.

Another big problem seems to be Meredith’s lack of chemistry with Matt Lauer.

“Working on Today has been beyond stressful for her,� says her friend. “I believe if she could have foreseen the trouble melding with Matt and the sacrifices her family has had to make, she would have stayed with The View. The pay wasn’t nearly as much, but the hours were great and it was a lot of fun for her.�