Clinton - Daytime TV talk show host?
Bill Clinton has talked with NBC executives about becoming the host of his own daytime TV talk show.
A Clinton spokeswoman, Julia Payne, downplayed the importance of the meeting in Los Angeles.
She says the former president has met with various people over the past year about potential projects.
"President Clinton did not demand a talk show," Miss Payne said. "He went to listen. The president is gratified by the range of opportunities that have been presented to him."
Her statement gave no further details, and NBC has made no comment.
The Los Angeles Times, which first reported the discussions, quoted a source saying Clinton was asking for a fee of $50m (€55m) a year. But a source familiar with the meeting said no fee was discussed.
The Times cited unidentified industry sources as saying Clinton was not seeking a political talk show because of potential conflicts of interest with his wife, New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
A Clinton associate described the meeting as informal, with the former president's interest no more or less serious than it is for other project ideas that have come his way.
TV producers Linda Bloodworth-Thomason and Harry Thomason, longtime Clinton friends who produced the CBS TV hit "Designing Women" and most recently NBC's failed "Emeril" sitcom, have helped the former president navigate the TV world.
Daytime talk shows, filled with celebrity interviews, beauty makeovers and "boot camps" for troubled teens, have generally seen their ratings slip this year with increased competition from other sources, including news networks. Two prominent hosts, Rosie O'Donnell and Sally Jessy Rafael, are ending their shows.
