January 17, 2008

Oprah Winfrey To Launch Her Own Television Channel, The Oprah Winfrey Network

The queen of all media icons, Oprah Winfrey, will soon have her own television network. OWN, short for the Oprah Winfrey Network, will be jointly created by Winfrey and Discovery Communications and will air sometime in 2009 on what is currently the Discovery Health channel. The popular Oprah Winfrey Show won't air initially on the new network, but Winfrey has the option of ending the show in 2010 or 2011 at which time she intends to move it to her network

OWN's editorial control will fall solely in the hands of Winfrey who says that she will still continue to produce material for other media outlets. The network will be owned jointly by Discovery and Winfrey's production company Harpo Inc., Winfrey will serve as chairwoman, and the search for a chief executive officer will begin immediately.

OWN will have the added benefit of being broadcast in the 70 million homes that currently have Discovery Health.

Via New York Times
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