Katie Couric Gets a Talk Show!

ABC has announced that Katie Couric has signed a multi-year deal for a talk show that she will host and produce. Couric, who has a house in East Hampton, is well known for her charm and interviewing abilities, so although she has been immersed in the world of live news for the past five years, this seems to be a perfect fit.

The as-yet-untitled show is scheduled to kick off in September 2012 and will be syndicated nationally, leading some industry experts to start speculating that Couric could become the next Oprah Winfrey, now that Winfrey’s long run as the queen of daytime has come to an end. Couric, who will be part owner of her show (to be based in New York), will also contribute to the ABC News team beginning this summer.

The talk-show world is highly competitive, with new players constantly entering the arena. Anderson Cooper has his own daytime show, Anderson, launching on September 12, and Alec Baldwin once expressed to David Letterman that he was interested in doing a talk show—but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards just yet.

Couric is already celebrating the move, telling Jay Leno on Monday night about a send-off after her final CBS Evening News broadcast that included shots of Patron and some karaoke during a night that didn’t end until 4 a.m. Can’t wait to hear the stories she tells Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday night.