Oprah Winfrey to end talk show in 2011
( Reuters )

November 21 2009


LOS ANGELES - Oprah Winfrey, one of the most influential and highly paid women on television, will announce on Friday she is ending her popular daytime talk show in 2011.

Winfrey’s production company, Harpo Inc, said on Thursday she would make the official announcement on Friday’s live program from Chicago and talk about the reasons behind the decision to end it after 25 years on the air.

Former Democratic presidential nominee and US Vice President Al Gore appears with Oprah Winfrey on her television show while campaigning in Chicago, Illinois, in this file photo. Winfrey will end her TV chat show at the end of its 25th season in September 2011, her production company Harpo Inc said on November 19. - Reuters

She is expected to move to cable network OWN, or Oprah Winfrey Network, a Los Angeles-based joint venture she formed with Discovery Communications Inc, when her current syndication deal for “The Oprah Winfrey Show” runs out in 2011. OWN will be available in more than 70 million homes.

Harpo declined to comment on whether or when a revised form of the program might appear on OWN, whose launch has been delayed several times since its original 2009 start date.

“The Oprah Winfrey Show,” broadcast from Chicago on ABC stations across the United States and in more than 140 countries overseas, is one of the TV industry’s biggest money-makers. It is the top-rated U.S. daytime talk show, averaging 7.1 million viewers this year.

Winfrey, 55, is considered a major opinion-maker in the United States and this year was No. 45 on Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s most powerful people.

She publicly promoted Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential campaign and her program became a platform this week for Republican 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin to launch her book, “Going Rogue.”

Actor Tom Cruise, the late Michael Jackson, and singer Whitney Houston are among the celebrities to have sat on, jumped on and poured out their hearts on her couch since the program began in 1986.

Winfrey used the show to launch her magazine, a book club that turned authors into best-sellers, and a cable TV channel, Oxygen, geared to female and lifestyle topics.

Her decision will affect CBS Corp’s CBS Television Distribution arm, which syndicates the show, and Walt Disney Co’s ABC-owned and operated TV stations that broadcast the show.

CBS TV Distribution said in a statement it wished Winfrey well. “We have the greatest respect for Oprah and wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors. We know that anything she turns her hand to will be a great success. We look forward to working with her for the next several years, and hopefully afterward as well,” the statement said.

Following are some facts about Winfrey and her program.

Winfrey, 55, was born on Jan. 28, 1954 to a single mother in rural Kosciusko, Mississippi, and at age 19 became the youngest person and first African American woman to anchor the news at Nashville’s WTVF-TV. In 1984, she moved to Chicago to host WLS-TV’s morning talk show, “AM Chicago,” and in less than a year, it was renamed “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” She eventually came to own the program through her company Harpo Inc, and it became nationally syndicated in 1986. In 1985, she starred in director Steven Spielberg’s film “The Color Purple,” earning an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress. Winfrey has produced other movies including 1998’s “Beloved” and the currently playing “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire”. Her book club has championed numerous authors, and her O, the Oprah Magazine, is a widely read style guide. On her show, she gave Barack Obama national exposure that helped him launch his presidential campaign; and an appearance by Tom Cruise damaged his career when he jumped on her couch to proclaim his love for actress Katie Holmes. “The Oprah Winfrey Show” is currently the top-rated U.S. daytime talk show, averaging 7.1 million viewers this year. Winfrey was recently ranked No. 141 on Forbes’ magazine’s list of 400 richest Americans of 2009 with a net worth of $2.3 billion.

 

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