NBC News has selected David Gregory to replace the late Tim Russert as the moderator of the top-ranked Sunday morning talk show “Meet the Press,” although the deal has not been completed yet, NBC executives announced on Tuesday.

David Gregory is discussing stipulations of an agreement that would offer him the chance to host the profitable and enduring franchise, The Associated Press cited an anonymous source as saying.

The network has been considering numerous candidates during the past few weeks, including Andrea Mitchell, Gwen Ifill and Chuck Todd, but eventually settled on the chief White House correspondent, who has also been a cable news host and has frequently served as stand-in on the “Today” show.

Tom Brokaw has substituted for Tim Russert following the latter’s death and is due to have President-elect Barack Obama as a guest on Sunday’s episode.

In spite of the fact that the Huffington Post reported that the deal had been finalized, NBC News spokeswoman Allison Gollust said on Tuesday that the network had no announcement to make.

David Gregory was MSNBC’s chief anchor during this year’s Presidential debates and teamed with Rachel Maddow, Eugene Robinson, Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann to cover the election.

It is still uncertain, however, whether NBC would choose only one anchor for its Sunday morning political program, as various reports claim that the network intends to name a regular panel of journalists and a moderator as well.