Oprah to Leave Network Television in 2011
In a shocking announcement, Oprah Winfrey has announced that she will end the Oprah Winfrey Show in September 2011. Next season will mark the 25th and final season of the long-running daytime television program.
Winfrey announced on her November 20 show that she has plans to end production of her show after 2011. Sources say that Winfrey is ending her program in order to start her own 24-hour television network, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). Plans are not clearly know about what Winfrey’s plans are for OWN, but her departure has raised speculation as to what Winfrey’s departure will mean to her current network, CBS.
Winfrey’s announcement was received as unexpected, the decision had actually been in development for several years. Winfrey had previously announced during an interview on the Larry King show in 2007 that she would not be renewing her contract after it expires in 2011.
History of the Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show debuted on September 8, 1986 in Chicago, Illinois. The show is the highest-rated talk show in American history, and is now the longest-running daytime talk show in the United States.
The show is produced by Winfrey’s company, Harpo Productions. Harpo Productions, which is based in Chicago, receives its name from reversing the letters in Winfrey’s first name. The last episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show will be the last television program to be distributed by King World, which was absorbed by CBS Television Distribution.
In her 25 years as a daytime talk show host, Winfrey has amassed an extremely dedicated fan base. The Oprah Winfrey Show consists mostly of uplifting spiritual content and has been parlayed into several other profitable endeavors.
Among other things, Winfrey’s show has spawned a successful book club and monthly magazine called O.
