Furious with Fox for counterpunching "The Contender" with a boxing series of its own, NBC Universal Television Group president Jeff Zucker came out swinging Saturday during the opening session of NBC's portion of the summer Television Critics Assn. press tour.

"Quite frankly, they used to be innovators, and now they're imitators," Zucker said of Fox, which greenlighted unscripted series "The Next Great Champ" just two months after it lost a bidding war to NBC for "Contender" (HR 4/19). NBC, DreamWorks brass and "Contender" executive producer Mark Burnett have openly criticized Fox and its alternative programming chief Mike Darnell for fielding "Champ" on the heels of the bidding for "Contender," but neither NBC nor production company DreamWorks has filed suit against Fox, which has denied any wrongdoing.

Zucker not only slammed Fox at numerous junctures but retaliated by divulging to assembled journalists that Fox was developing "two secret shows," one of which he said was titled "Who's My Daddy?"

"I think it's not right what they are doing, and frankly they should be called on it," Zucker told reporters gathered at the Century Plaza Hotel in Century City.

A spokesman for Fox Broadcasting Co. declined to react to Zucker's comments.

Sources confirmed that "Daddy" is a reality series in which a woman unaware of who her biological father is attempts to pick him out of a pool of 16 contestants. The other project in the Fox pipeline Zucker was believed to be referring to was "Big Shot," a competition show in the vein of "The Apprentice" but with a surprise twist at the end for the contestants.

"Contender" executive producer and DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg echoed Zucker's condemnation of Fox in a separate press conference later that day, as did "Contender" star Sylvester Stallone, who declared "bootlegging has finally made it to primetime."

"If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, theft is the lowest form of creativity," Katzenberg said of Fox.

In recent years, broadcasters have gone to increasingly elaborate lengths to keep unscripted formats under tight wraps, lest competitors develop copycat programs. Neither "Champ" nor "Contender" has received a premiere date, but "Champ" is expected to come out first -- a move Zucker emphasized demonstrates Fox's motive to blunt the impact of "Contender."

NBC also announced a change to the fall schedule it revealed to advertisers at the upfront in May: Tuesday night anchor "Average Joe" is being temporarily shelved in favor of a third season of "Last Comic Standing." Kevin Reilly, president of NBC Entertainment, cited "Comic's" strong summer ratings as the reason for moving up its premiere date.

" 'Last Comic' obviously has momentum, but also the audience profile of ('Last Comic') felt like it was going to be a more compatible fit in the time period leading into 'Contender,' that's going to follow it, than maybe 'Average Joe' was going to be," said Reilly, who indicated "Joe" will return to the schedule at a date and time to be determined.

Reilly also revealed the premiere dates for all new and returning NBC series, most of which will debut directly after the Olympics in order to capitalize on the network's expected ratings momentum. "Fear Factor" and a sneak peek of "Hawaii" will bow first on Aug. 30, followed by "Comic," "Father of the Pride" and "Scrubs" the next day. "Hawaii" will return to its regularly scheduled time slot on Sept. 1.

"Las Vegas" and "LAX" debut Sept. 6. "Joey," "The Apprentice" and a sneak peek of "Medical Investigation" bow on Sept. 9, with "Medical" resuming its regular slot on Sept. 10. A slew of returning series, including "Will & Grace" and "ER," come back between Sept. 16-26.

A notable exception to the post-Olympics push will be "The West Wing," which won't debut until Oct. 20 in order to avoid the crush of presidential debates.

Reilly also disclosed significant changes were in store for the storylines on "Wing," which weathered a rocky season in 2003-04 without original executive producer Aaron Sorkin.

"All I can tell you is it's not going to be business as usual," Reilly said. "The one little hint I could say is that the Bartlet administration is clearly coming to the end of its term, and I think that's going to foster some really interesting developments."

Several new NBC pilots will be tinkered with before air including "LAX," which will reshoot some scenes because executives felt the tone was too light for a series set at an airport. "Joey" also will face reshoots as NBC recasts the role of the female neighbor sometime next week. Reilly also indicated that several additional characters will be added to the "Joey" cast over the course of the season.

One series that won't get a tone adjustment is "Pride," an animated rendering of Las Vegas legends Siegfried & Roy that NBC research indicated would not be perceived differently in light of the tragic mauling last year of Roy Horn. "We have over-thought this and over-analyzed it so much," said Zucker. "And the viewers, all they want to do is laugh."

Zucker defended his stance on a variety of other programming strategies ranging from the primetime allotment of upcoming convention news coverage to the number of hours slotted to unscripted programming. While unrepentant about a rash of "Dateline" specials this year devoted to such NBC properties as "Friends" and "Frasier," he also vowed not to overdo news coverage of the newly expanded range of entertainment properties under his control after the NBC-Universal merger. "With regard to our news programs, I think there is a line," he said.

Zucker alternated between combative sniping and striking candor during his state-of-the-network opening session, confessing to past missteps including scheduling snafus that ultimately sunk the critically acclaimed "Boomtown." He also admitted he realized before last season's heavily hyped but short-lived sitcom "Coupling" ever aired that he had a bomb on his hands. "We knew we were in trouble when we saw the first taping of 'Coupling,' " Zucker said. "It just wasn't working."