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No more Oprah Winfrey shows from 2011
by Kangna Agarwal - November 20, 2009 - comments
Not many people would know that Winfrey was herself a victim of abuse and was raised on a pig farm in Mississippi
New York, November 20 -- In what may cause the network television ratings to plummet, Oprah Winfrey, the media personality and mogul has decided to pull off her syndicated afternoon talk show in September 2011 after its 25th season on air.
While Winfrey, 55, couldn’t be reached to comment, Tim Bennett, the president Harpo Inc, Winfrey's Chicago based production company, said that Winfrey will give more details live on ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ to be broadcasted Friday.
"Oprah's personal comments about this on tomorrow's live show will mark an historic television moment that we will all be talking about for years to come," Bennett said.
Winfrey to focus on OWN
It is said that she planned to wind up her talk show in order to focus on the launch of her cable network, OWN (i.e. The Oprah Winfrey Network) in partnership with the Discovery Communications.
Winfrey’s cable layout is expected to replace Discovery Health channel and will be available in nearly 70 million households across the United States.
CBS Corp's CBS TV Distribution, the owner of syndication rights to her show said in a statement, "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."
Winfrey’s departure, a blow to ABC
For Walt Disney Co's ABC stations, where her shows are seen largely, Winfrey’s departure would mean loss of daytime’s most popular program and a loss of millions of revenue.
Larry Gerbrandt, an analyst for the firm Media Valuation Partners, said “any show that ABC comes up with to replace her will not draw anything near the ratings guarantee they could count on with Oprah. At least for the first year, ABC is going to take a serious hit.”
Oprah Winfrey and her talk show
Over the last two decades, Winfrey has become one of the richest and most influential forces in the television world.
She was recently ranked No. 45 on Forbes magazine's list of the world's most powerful people. But not many people would know that Winfrey was herself a victim of abuse and had been raised on a pig farm in Mississippi.
Her talk show, "The Oprah Winfrey Show", being the highest rated in the American television history, draws nearly seven million viewers annually. It is telecasted from Chicago on ABC stations across the United States and in more than 140 countries worldwide, and is one of the TV industry's biggest money-makers.
The show has served as the main pedestal for the empowerment of women and offers a deeper look into the popular American culture, besides celebrity interviews, self-improvement segments, and philanthropic forays into the global events.