Oprah Winfrey’s OWN sets launch date
Posted on November 21, 2009
Filed Under East meets West | 2 Comments
Holding back tears, Oprah Winfrey told her studio audience Friday that she would end her show in 2011 after a quarter-century on the air. The powerhouse show became the foundation for her multibillion-dollar media empire, but in the last year, has seen its ratings slip 7%. Winfrey, 55, is widely expected to start up a new talk show on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a much-delayed joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc. that is projected to debut in 2011. OWN is to replace the Discovery Health Channel and will debut in some 74 million homes.
From a local Chicago morning program, the production evolved into television’s top-rated talk show for more than two decades, airing in 145 countries worldwide and watched by an estimated 42 million viewers a week in the U.S. alone. Winfrey’s 24th season opened this year with a bang, as she drew more than 20,000 fans to Chicago’s Magnificent Mile for a block party with the Black Eyed Peas. She followed with a series of blockbuster interviews — Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, Whitney Houston and ESPN’s Erin Andrews, and just this week, former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. As a newcomer, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” chipped away at talk-show king Phil Donahue’s dominance. Later, it turned to inspiration. The show’s coverage ranged from interviews with the world’s celebrities to an honest discussion about Winfrey’s weight struggles.
In 1986, pianist-showman Liberace gave his final TV interview to Winfrey, just six weeks before he died. In a 1993 prime-time special, Michael Jackson revealed he suffered from a skin condition that produces depigmentation. Tom Cruise enthusiastically declared his affection for the much-younger Katie Holmes on the program in 2005 — and jumped on the couch to prove it. In 2004, Winfrey unveiled her most famous giveaway, when nearly 300 members of the studio audience opened a gift box to find the keys to a new car inside. The stunt became a classic show moment as much for Winfrey’s reaction — “You get a car! You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!” — as its $7 million price tag. The show also became a launching pad for Oprah’s Book Club, which then launched best-sellers. The titles ranged from “Song of Solomon” and “Paradise” by Toni Morrison to Wally Lamb’s “She’s Come Undone” and Elie Wiesel’s “Night.”
The loss of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” would be a blow to CBS Corp., which earns a percentage of hefty licensing fees from TV stations that use it — largely ABC affiliates. Talk of the show’s end often has accompanied Winfrey’s contract negotiations. Before signing her current contract in 2004, she talked about quitting after the 2005-2006 season. Winfrey started her broadcasting career in Nashville, Tenn., and Baltimore, Md., before relocating to Chicago in 1984 to host WLS-TV’s morning talk show “A.M. Chicago” — which became “The Oprah Winfrey Show” one year later. She set up Harpo the following year and her talk show went into syndication. OWN will debut in January 2011 — eight months before Oprah Winfrey’s syndicated talk show airs its final episode.
The announcement is the latest in a series of launch dates for OWN, which had a full-blown upfront presentation to advertisers in May. The network was originally expected to launch by the end of this year. Then it was pushed to 2010, and now 2011. The new launch date will be three years after the joint venture was originally formed. OWN is a joint venture between Winfrey and Discovery Communications and will debut in about 80 million homes, rebranding what is currently the Discovery Health Channel.
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Nikskili say: I would like to talk to you on this question.
I would not do it.