January 15, 2008 – Business Management Article
Oprah Winfrey, the world famous Talk show host and top-earning US celebrity will launch a new television network channel (to debut in 2009 in more than 70 million homes) with Discovery Communications, which owns the Discovery Network and Animal Planet, among others. In a joint statement release, the company said that the new network will be a “natural extension” of her show and that The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) will be a multi-platform media venture “designed to entertain, inform and inspire people to live their best lives.”
Oprah said that she had written in her diary that she would set up her own television network one day. Oprah also said that the new network is the evolution of the work she has been doing on television all these years and that it is a natural extension of her show. Oprah Winfrey will have full editorial control over the joint venture and will be responsible for OWN’s programming, branding and creative vision.
In a recent US poll on most admired women, Oprah Winfrey was ranked second to US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. For five consecutive years, Oprah Winfrey has led the Harris Poll’s favorite television stars list for five consecutive years. However, in a latest poll, Ellen DeGeneres, comedian and daytime TV host replaced Oprah Winfrey as the U.S.’s favorite television personality. Ellen was eighth last year.