Gannett Inc. (GCI) Chief Executive Officer Craig Dubow said Monday that the company's broadcast stations that are NBC affiliates would likely be better off if the network hadn't departed from scripted programming in the 10 p.m. hour in prime-time with a comedy show hosted by Jay Leno.

On a conference call following the company's third-quarter earnings release, Dubow tempered his comments about NBC's prime-time programming strategy, saying it's too early to tell Gannett's broadcasting business will be affected.

Some broadcast stations had objected to NBC's strategy when it announced its plans to use Leno in prime-time, due to concerns that it would hurt audience ratings for their late-night news broadcasts.

"Right now, we would probably be in a little better position with the traditional [prime-time programming]," said Dubow. "It’s awfully early to tell at this point. Leno will give us some opportunities as we move forward."

Gannett's broadcasting business is the nation's largest operator of NBC-affiliated stations. With NBC Universal's owner, General Electric Co. (GE), in negotiations with Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) about surrendering majority ownership of the media conglomerate to the cable operator, the future of NBC's broadcasting business and its affiliated stations is unclear due to regulatory and other issues.

Under questioning on the conference call, Dubow acknowledged that the prospect of NBC becoming a cable network wouldn't bode well for Gannett.

"We’re not anywhere a part of those discussions, but it probably wouldn’t be good for us from an affiliate standpoint," said Dubow.

-Nat Worden, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2472; nat.worden@dowjones.com