KNBC Los Angeles said Monday that it's moving syndicated talker "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" back an hour to serve as the lead-in for new talk-variety strip "The Megan Mullally Show."

"Ellen," which kicks off its fourth season Sept. 4, will move from its current period at 4 p.m. to 3 p.m. starting Sept. 18, where it will take on top-rated syndicated talker "The Oprah Winfrey Show," which airs on KABC. "Megan," meanwhile, is set to launch in syndication Sept. 18 in the 4 p.m. slot.

KNBC president and general manager Paula Madison said "Ellen" will provide a strong lead-in for newcomer "Megan."

"With 'Megan' at 4 p.m. and 'Ellen,' a solid and proven show at 3 p.m., as a lead-in, I believe we have a two-hour afternoon block that will prove to be a great showcase for their incredible talents, provide a lot of laughs and will be an excellent choice for our viewers," Madison said.

With "Ellen" taking on "Oprah" in Los Angeles, "Megan" will be up against such competition as No. 2-ranked syndicated talk show "Dr. Phil," which airs at 4 p.m. on KCBS. WNBC New York is employing a similar strategy by moving "Ellen" to 4 p.m., the time slot occupied by "Oprah" on WABC in that market, and airing "Megan" at 3 p.m., the same slot where "Dr. Phil" airs on WCBS New York.

Bill Carroll, vp and director of programming at station-rep firm Katz Television Group, said that both stations' scheduling makes sense and points out that the moves are a "significant" vote of confidence for both "Ellen" and "Megan."

"You want to put the strongest and most experienced program ('Ellen') against the No. 1 show in afternoon ('Oprah')," he said. "And obviously, based on the schedules in the top two markets, the NBC stations have very high hopes for 'Megan Mullally' or they wouldn't be scheduling a freshman show in those key afternoon time periods."

Meanwhile, the Martha Stewart-hosted talk show "Martha" will continue to air at 10 a.m. on KNBC. Daytime drama "Passions" will serve as the lead-in to "Ellen" on that station.

KNBC also announced a new show called "yourLAtv," which it describes as "a new concept in local programming." The show, which is produced by the station and hosted by Rachel Boesing, will air at noon starting Sept. 18.

Executive producer Ginger Zumaeta called "yourLAtv" an "insider's guide to L.A."

"It's a show for L.A., co-produced by the people of L.A.," she said. "It relies very heavily on user-generated video and content, so the idea is that the great people of L.A. go out and take their video cameras and tell us the stories they have to tell about Los Angeles and their particular slice of life."

Among other methods, viewers will be able to submit videos at a Web site, www.yourlatv.com, that's in the works. But Zumaeta said the station already has received submissions from people who have learned about the show via word-of-mouth. So far, they include a struggling actor giving insight into his life and a piece on secondhand shops that sell designer clothing for a fraction of their original prices.

"YourLAtv" will be followed by encore presentations of "Access Hollywood" at 12:30 p.m.

"Megan," "Martha" and "Access Hollywood" are distributed by NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution, while "Ellen" is distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. "Oprah" and "Dr. Phil" are distributed by King World Prods.