A news release from the
Oprah Winfrey Network said the 90-minute "no-holds-barred" interview
will air at 9 p.m. ET January 17 and will be simulcast on Oprah.com.
Winfrey will ask the
disgraced cycling star to address the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency's report,
which said there was overwhelming evidence he was directly involved in a
sophisticated doping program, the statement said.
The International Cycling
Union, which choose not to appeal the USADA's lifetime ban, stripped
Armstrong of his record seven Tour victories in October.
The World Anti-Doping
Agency also agreed with the sanctions, which means Armstrong may not
compete in sports governed by WADA code.
Before the ban, he was
competing in Ironman triathlons and had won two of the five events he
had entered. Since the ban he has entered two non-sanctioned events.
According to his Twitter
feed, Armstrong has been biking, running and swimming in Hawaii. The
Winfrey interview will take place at Armstrong's home in Austin, Texas.
The New York Times
reported last week that Armstrong, 41, was contemplating publicly
admitting he used illegal performance-enhancing drugs. Such an admission
might lead toward Armstrong regaining his eligibility.
One of his attorneys denied Armstrong was in discussion with the two anti-doping agencies.
Attorney Tim Herman, in a
recent e-mail to CNN Sports, did not address whether Armstrong told
associates -- as reported by the newspaper -- that he was considering an
admission.
Armstrong has repeatedly
and vehemently denied that he used banned performance-enhancing drugs
as well as illegal blood transfusions during his cycling career.
In the past, Armstrong
has argued that he took more than 500 drug tests and never failed. In
its 202-page report that detailed Armstrong's alleged use of
performance-enhancing drugs and blood transfusions, the USADA said it
had tested Armstrong less than 60 times and the International Cycling
Union conducted about 215 tests.
The agency did not say
that Armstrong ever failed a test, but his former teammates testified as
to how they beat tests or avoided the tests altogether.
The New York Times,
citing unnamed associates and anti-doping officials, said Armstrong has
been in discussions with USADA officials and hopes to meet with David
Howman, chief of the World Anti-Doping Agency. The newspaper said none
of the people with knowledge of Armstrong's situation wanted to be
identified because it would jeopardize their access to information on
the matter.
Under World Anti-Doping
Agency rules, an athlete who confesses to using performance-enhancing
drugs may be eligible for a reinstatement.
Armstrong has been an
icon for his cycling feats and celebrity, bringing more status to a
sport wildly popular in some nations but lacking big-name recognition,
big money and mass appeal in the United States.
He fought back from
testicular cancer to win the Tour from 1999 to 2005. He raised millions
via his Lance Armstrong Foundation to help cancer victims and survivors,
an effort illustrated by trendy yellow "LiveSTRONG" wristbands that
helped bring in the money.
But Armstrong has long
been dogged by doping allegations, with compatriot Floyd Landis -- who
was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title after failing a drug test
-- making a series of claims in 2011.
Armstrong sued the USADA
last year to stop its investigation of him, arguing it did not have the
right to prosecute him. But after a federal judge dismissed the case,
Armstrong said he would no longer participate in the investigation.
In October 2012,
Armstrong was stripped of his titles and banned from cycling. Weeks
later, he stepped down from the board of his foundation, Livestrong.
It is unclear whether
Armstrong would face criminal prosecution for perjury should he confess.
Armstrong was involved in several cases where he gave sworn testimony
that he never used banned drugs.