It’s official: Katie Couric has signed a new deal with ABC to host and produce her own syndicated talk show as well as join the ABC News team.
In announcing the multi-year, multi-platform agreement, ABC said that Couric’s new talk show, which will be helmed by Jeff Zucker, has already been cleared in the 3 p.m. time slot at the eight stations owned and operated by ABC, which reside in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham and Fresno.
“Katie Couric is one of television’s iconic figures and we are thrilled to have forged such an exciting partnership with her,” said Anne Sweeney, president of the ABC Television group, in making the announcement. “We look forward to having Katie join the best News team in the business, and to working with her to create a dynamic and successful talk show franchise.”
Couric’s daytime talk show is set to premiere in September 2012. Clearing the show in a coveted time slot was a major factor in Couric’s negotiations with networks this spring. According to The New York Times, the former “CBS Evening News” anchor tried to get NBC to clear its stations’ 4 p.m. spot for her.