There had been lots of speculation that Oprah Winfrey was going to be giving up on her juggernaut of a syndicated talk show soon, but many of those rumors had been dismissed as negotiating ploys or some other silly rumor. Now, however, it seems like Oprah's departure from daytime is official: Tim Bennett, president of Harpo, confirmed that Oprah will announce on her show tomorrow that she will be ending the program on September 9, 2011.Not coincidentally, that date is the day after the 25th anniversary of her first nationally-syndicated episode, and she'll mark the anniversary on her last show. Bennett told WCCO that this decision was under discussion for months, but the decision ultimately came down to the big O herself.
With the Oprah Winfrey Network currently set to launch around that time (it's the longest cable network launch I've ever seen; VH1 will change formats ten times between now and then), it would make sense that she would continue some form of her show there. But, as Allison speculated, I can't imagine it'll be the same as the syndicated show. What would be the point of doing the same show for a smaller audience? What kind of show do you think she'll do on OWN?
[Update: Apparently, first word of her departure came from WABC right here in New York. Huh. I was watching the YES network at the time, so I missed it.]
[Thanks to Pete for the tip.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-19-2009 @ 8:45PM
Anita said...
I hope she'll at least continue to do specials on ABC. Although she's done well on Satellite radio, she hasn't done as well with cable. Also, how will she populate all of the channels with original content? Finally, if OWN is a new network that means it won't be included in the basic cable channel package which means even fewer viewers . . .
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11-20-2009 @ 12:50AM
Andrew said...
If you get Discovery Health now, you'll get Oprah's new channel.
11-19-2009 @ 11:18PM
I_Hate_Oprah said...
September 9, 2011 can't come any sooner.
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11-20-2009 @ 12:08AM
Matt said...
Did your mother ever tell you to quit acting your shoe size?
Perhaps she should have.
11-20-2009 @ 12:52AM
Andrew said...
Oh, boo hoo. Some people on the Internet are too sensitive.
11-20-2009 @ 3:24AM
Sir Yuck-Yuck said...
I would agree with post #3 and #5
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