Report: NBC offered Oprah primetime slot

CHICAGO, May 21 (UPI) -- NBC Universal Chief Executive Officer Jeff Zucker says the network offered Oprah Winfrey a primetime U.S. talk show about two years ago.

NBC recently announced Jay Leno, who was replaced as "The Tonight Show" host by Conan O'Brien, will be starting up his own show this fall. It is to air at 10 p.m.

TV Week quoted Zucker as saying the network had previously discussed giving its weeknight 7 p.m. timeslot to Winfrey, whose current ABC daytime talk show is wildly popular.

Zucker told the trade publication Winfrey declined the offer to switch networks and time slots, but said she might have considered it earlier in her career.

Zucker also said he is confident Leno's new show will be a success, even though it will be up against some of the other networks' most popular series.

"We're completely committed to this," Zucker said.