Oprah Winfrey’s exit from her talk show to her OWN cable channel — I told the story a year ago in my old column. The rumor popped up again today, and both CBS and Winfrey denied that a decision has been made.
Since the creation of the Internet, it’s become an interesting phenomenon of the news cycle that old stories, which made a big splash when they were first published, vanish when a new panic sets in. Today’s so-called scoops about Oprah shutting down her syndicated show are rehashed from a year ago.
Frankly, it’s been understood for some time that Oprah was moving to the OWN network. Her show there would the lynchpin in that new network’s launch. That has always been the plan.
And, as planned and reported a year ago, Oprah will end her syndicated show in 2011, on its 25th anniversary. Her move to cable will be like Howard Stern’s was to Sirius Radio. Suddenly, a lot of people will be signing up for the OWN channel. Oprah will get richer. And someone will come along and fill the void left by her in the afternoon.
So, really, let’s calm down. The end of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in daytime is two years off. There’s plenty of time to get our farewells in order!
November 6th, 2009 at 8:51 am
Roger I disagree. I don’t have tea leaves, but not everything that Oprah touches turns to gold. If she goes to her own network/cable outlet, she might end up like the WB/CW…with low viewership — unless she also transmits over the internt. She’s got to use the internet technology to reach a wider audience, because cable is limiting. Not everybody can afford cable.
I believe she wants to make movies and maybe that’s why she wants her own network, so she can make TV movies that she wants to make. Her theatrical releases aren’t money-makers, so maybe TV is the best outlet.