'Kelly Clarkson' show to take over Ellen DeGeneres' time slot next year

Singer Kelly Clarkson's syndicated talk show will inherit one of the most coveted time slots in daytime television when "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" ends its run after 19 seasons next year.

NBCUniversal announced Wednesday that "The Kelly Clarkson Show," which it produces and distributes, will take over DeGeneres' slot in fall 2022 on NBC's 11 owned-and-operated stations. These include WNBC/4 in New York as well as stations in Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas-Fort Worth, Washington, D.C., and other major markets.

Hosted by Grammy Award-winning singer and "The Voice" coach Clarkson, 39, the show's current second season airs on 200 stations covering 100% of the country. It airs at 2 p.m. local time in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, the country's three largest markets, right behind "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" at 3 p.m. Popular daytime shows in the latter slot are important for local stations, since they generally provide a large audience leading in to 4 p.m. newscasts

In its first year, "The Kelly Clarkson Show" was nominated for seven Daytime Emmy Awards and won three, including for outstanding entertainment talk show host. At Tuesday's announcement for this year's Daytime Emmys, the show racked up six nominations, including, for a second year, outstanding entertainment talk show and outstanding host.

"These are remarkable achievements for a talk show in its second season," said Valari Staab, President of NBCUniversal Local, adding that, "By 2022, 'The Kelly Clarkson Show' will be the star of our daytime entertainment schedules and an asset to our early afternoon newscasts."

"Kelly and our entire production team put their heart, intent and incredible passion into making a show that resonates with people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds," said NBCUniversal Syndication Studios executive vice president Tracie Wilson in a statement.

Clarkson has not commented publicly on the announcement. On her social media Wednesday, she posted a video thanking the Television Academy for her show's recent Emmy nominations, and gave a shoutout to NBCUniversal for being an "awesome partner. … It's awesome to work with people that believe in what you're doing and to get the support. … Life is — it's amazing right now for all of us and we're very, very happy and I just wanted to say thank you to everybody."