The media mogul Oprah Winfrey will end her iconic daytime talk show, “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” in 2011 as she prepares to start a cable channel of her own.
via NYTimes.com.
This had been widely rumored, and perhaps even expected, but the NY Times doesn't mention specifically that she is moving her show to her new cable network (OWN), the possibility being it might be done for good. However as Robert points out in the comments, that makes no sense.
Maybe it will be called “Oprah” rather than “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, but the notion of there being an Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) without an “Oprah talk show” seems like playing a football game without a ball.
This is a huge blow to the syndicated world. Trying to find a replacement is going to be tough.
I bet every studio in town is knocking at the ABC station’s doors right now.
wow this is HUGE.. so Ellen will be the new king of daytime
I mean queen LOL, not king.
It will be interesting to see what kind of carriage OWN gets once Oprah’s show moves over to that network. If it’s not placed on the basic tier in most cable systems, lots of women are going to be very unhappy.
Several things to keep in mind on this issue.
1) Oprah couldn’t continue to charge what she’s charged in the past. TV stations LOSE money on Oprah. They pay more than they take in advertising in the rationale that she will bring a big lead-in for the next show on their station. In this recession year, stations after stations have said that this loss-leader strategy has to go. She could cut her price but I don’t think her ego could survive such a blow.
2) While she still dominates all other talk shows, her ratings are down. This combined with the previous point makes stations even less likely to continue to pay for a loss leader.
3) She is obviously getting tired of the show. Over recent years, fewer and fewer new episodes are being produced.
4) Her cable TV channel needs a big draw. When she only airs her show on it, it will likely become a very strong cable TV network on the strength of her show alone.
5) Howard Stern. He was once a powerhouse but is now a shadow of himself since his move to satellite radio. While her talk show would boost her cable TV network, the show’s power will be greatly diminished. Very likely being on her show then won’t guarantee any book a spot on the bestseller lists, as her syndicated show now does.
who knows, netlets like ION, MNT and independent local stations could become simulcasts of OWN during certain dayparts, though doing something like that would impact the carriage fees cable/satellite companies will pay for OWN.
The various reports all use wording like “…end her daytime talk show, “The Oprah Winfrey Show, in 2011…” This leaves one to believe she could have a different titled show on her network.
Or…she may just figure she’ll quit the while she’s ahead. Not like she has no other income.
This will be one of the highest rated O weeks in quite sometime thanks to Sarah and the announcement. Definitely not a fan, but there’s no arguing with her success. Not as big a risk as TJS. LOL
TJS = TJLS — ooops. Forgot the “Leno” LOL
I don’t think there is a daytime host now that can fill the void of Oprah. Ellen is great in her own right, but her show is more in comedy form. It’s nowhere near the iconic status of Oprah’s show. The only host even attempting to follow Oprah’s format is Tyra Banks, and she’s light-years behind
Six months ago, I wrote Oprah a letter asking her to have the superawesome, supersexy stars of Dollhouse on her show! She did not respond to any of the 485 copies I sent! I retaliated by asking my accountant to find a way to embezzle money from Oprah! He has surpassed my expectations by managing to take out $584 from Oprah’s personal bank account! According to my Internet research, she is worth 2.3 billion, so if my calculations are correct (and they are, because I passed elementary school math!), I’ve managed to steal 2.5 percent of her net worth! Go me! I have mailed this money to Joss in hopes that he will use it to bring Dollhouse back!
Dollhouse! Dollhouse! Dollhouse! Dollhouse rules! Oprah drools! Dollhouse!
Strictly from a business point of view, it’s not such a big deal that Oprah is leaving. Her license fee, in today’s market, was nothing short of outrageous. Although I can’t speak for the American affiliates carrying the show, in Canada, her fees are literally through the roof. Of course, that brings market-leading ratings which greatly help the 6pm newscast of CTV. At the network that I work at (CityTV), we almost got into a bidding war to pick up the show – but it got increasingly unaffordable from what I hear.
Although nothing is set in stone at this point, it seems like the ABC stations (and, by extension, CTV) will likely put ‘The View’ up at 4pm. Finding a replacement for the morning is much easier (and less risky) than finding a replacement for the local news lead-in. The other option will be to possibly put “Dr. Oz” in the slot, but at this point, his ratings record is solid but short – by 2011, we’ll get a better picture of how well he does. Dr. Phil will NOT be taking the spot, as the ratings for that show have been declining for years and the license fees are also quite rich for that program.
She needs to move on. Her show is tired and losing steam. I think Obama will have a nice ambassadorship for her in Monaco.
Maybe they’ll move Racheal Ray back to the afternoon. I was royaly pissed when it got moved in favor of that annoying Dr. OZ.
Are there any numbers out there to possibly back this hope of mine?
Why do ABC stations keep coming up? Oprah is a syndicated show, not tied to any one network. In Miami, she’s on CBS.
She wants to be on her spaceship with all of her fans in their purple Nikes before the clock hits 2012.
I’m sorry, but how is this not the Featured Story on TVBN? Iconic show with iconic ratings