Jonathan Storm: Talk show, ABC News for Couric

The ex-CBS News anchor gets a 3 p.m. weekday slot in 2012 and joins the news team this summer.

By Jonathan Storm

Inquirer Television Critic

Katie Couric will be getting a 3 p.m. weekday talk show on big-city ABC stations in September 2012, and she will join ABC News this summer, in a deal announced by Disney/ABC Monday. Couric, 54, will appear on all ABC News programs and platforms, the company said, and will "anchor specials, contribute interviews, [and] participate in special events coverage." Diane Sawyer will remain as anchor of the flagship ABC World News.
Disney will syndicate Couric's talk show, executive-produced by former NBC boss and longtime Couric crony Jeff Zucker, which means it would be sold around the country to station groups and local independent stations, which could air it whenever they want. But ABC-owned stations, including Philadelphia's 6ABC, serving about a quarter of American viewers, will schedule it at 3 p.m.