Katie Couric confirms plans for ABC talk show

Katie Couric made it official Monday: The former host of NBC's Today show and CBS Evening News anchor will jump to ABC for a syndicated daytime talk show to begin in September 2012.

• 

  By Charles Sykes, AP

  After five years anchoring the 'CBS Evening News,' Katie Couric is embarking on a new phase of her career: daytime talk-show host.

By Charles Sykes, AP

After five years anchoring the 'CBS Evening News,' Katie Couric is embarking on a new phase of her career: daytime talk-show host.

As part of her deal, she will gain a presence on ABC News programs starting Aug. 1, contributing interviews and political coverage, which she hopes to continue even after her new show premieres.

Couric says she'll offer a mix of celebrity interviews and social-issue topics, combining elements of Today and The Oprah Winfrey Show, which ended a 25-year run last month. She made no headway in reversing fortunes for CBS' perennially third-place evening newcast. (Couric's replacement, 60 Minutes' Scott Pelley, begins tonight).

"It's an opportunity for me to shape a program that will be compelling, interesting, informative and hopefully compelling to people," she said in an interview, ticking off varied interests from pop singer Adele to the Navy Seals and the latest melanoma treatment. "It will really run the gamut from serious issues to more fun topics because I have such a range of interests."

The show, to be taped in New York, will air at 3 p.m. ET/PT on eight network-owned stations in top markets such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Houston. Elsewhere, ABC will sell it to local stations, some unaffiliated with the network. Also next September, it will allow local affiliates to program that hour as they wish, displacing General Hospital. But none are obligated to run Couric's program.

The network already is axing two other soaps, All My Children and One Life to Live, and will replace them with cheaper talk-show programs. Should either one or both fail, Hospital could move earlier in the day, or ABC could ultimately decide to cancel its remaining soap. "It really is about the audience voting with their eyeballs," says Disney ABC Television Group chief Anne Sweeney.

As for Couric, stations are interested in any "significant known personality" coming to daytime, says analyst Bill Carroll of Katz Television Group. But in predicting success, "the question is twofold: Which stations and time periods are available and what kind of show will it be? Assuming it's going to be Oprah-esque, ideally, that's a 4 p.m. show," he says. "The problem they face in most markets is (that time slot) is locked up for the next three years" with Dr. Oz, Ellen DeGeneres, top-rated Judge Judy or local newscasts.

Over the past several months, Couric has met with Warner Bros., NBC, CBS and ABC, but discussions advanced only with ABC. CBS had the right ? but not the interest ? in matching a competing offer until its contract with Couric expired on Saturday. NBC objected to Couric's demand for ownership of the show, a top executive there said, which limits its financial appeal. If successful, Couric -- who made $15 million a year at CBS -- stands to earn more in syndication, because stations pay to air the show and advertisers pay to sponsor it.

But mere fame is no guarantee: Jane Pauley, one of Couric's well-liked predecessors at Today, flamed out with her own daytime talk show. But "I've been weirdly fearless," Couric says, "when it comes to jumping off a cliff like this and taking a plunge to a new area."

Disney ABC Television Group chief Anne Sweeney said that "fearlessness" is what made Couric an appealing addition. "She has a unique ability to key into stories that people want to know more about (and) look at information we are bombarded with and boil it down."

Jeff Zucker, who helped Couric rise to fame as producer of Today, is reuniting with her as producer of the new show. He was ousted as CEO of NBC Universal when Comcast acquired the company this year.

For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

We've updated the Conversation Guidelines. Changes include a brief review of the moderation process and an explanation on how to use the "Report Abuse" button. Read more.

Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/usatoday-LifeTopStories/~3/xmo4XkZJgvo/2011-06-06-katie-couric-moves-to-abc-talk-show_n.htm

Nicollette Sheridan Sara Spraker Ivanka Trump Whitney Port