Zoneboy
11-19-2009, 07:53 PM
It's official: After 25 years, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will end its run on Sept. 9, 2011.
Winfrey broke the news to staffers at her Chicago-based Harpo production company on Thursday. She'll officially announce her exit on Friday.
Whether or not that means Winfrey will launch a new talker on her burgeoning cable partnership with Discovery, OWN, remains to be announced--but Winfrey is expected to have a major presence on the cabler. It's no secret Discovery topper David Zaslav would like to see the host move her show to the cable channel, which is expected to launch in January 2011.
Rumors of Winfrey's departure had been heavy over the last few weeks, after key "Oprah Winfrey Show" staffer Lisa Erspamer, who had been co-executive producer of the syndie strip since 2006, was tapped as Chief Creative Officer of OWN.
"We have the greatest respect for Oprah and wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors," "Oprah" distributor CBS said in a statement. "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 afterwards as well."
News comes just days after Harpo sealed a deal with Sony Pictures TV to launch a new syndie strip starring frequent Winfrey show guest Nate Berkus.
Had Winfrey decided to stick with the show, it was believed she would leave CBS TV Distribution and move to Sony.
Not only does her deal with stations -- particularly the ABC-owned and Hearst-owned outlets where she has dominated in the ratings for decades -- expire in fall 2011, but her deal with CBS Television Distribution is up as well.
Had she decided to stay, Winfrey was facing the likely prospect of doing her show for a lot less money. Stations have long been willing to just break even or lose money on "Oprah" in exchange for the ratings bounce it delivers as a local news lead-in. But in these cash-strapped times, local outlets wouldn't have been willing to pay the same rates they once did.
Winfrey had been coy about the future of her syndicated talkshow for more than a decade, having first hinted in the late 1990s that the show would end. She has gradually decreased the number of originals she produces; but last year, when a window in her contract opened up to terminate the show a year early, Winfrey didn't exercise that clause.
The December 2007 death of Roger King, the one-time King World topper who continued as CEO of CBS TV Distribution after selling the company to the Eye, also complicated matters. Winfrey dealt almost exclusively with King, and hadn't forged much of a relationship with the other execs inside CBS (save Bob Madden, a King World alum who's now senior exec VP at the Eye).
With King no longer there, Winfrey opted to launch her new "Dr. Oz" (and now "Berkus") strip with rival Sony Pictures TV.
Winfrey's departure will make for an unprecedented shift in syndicated daytime TV -- something that similarly happened in morning radio after Howard Stern split for satellite radio.
In one scenario, Warner Bros. Domestic TV Distribution might make a play to grab those ABC station slots for "Ellen." The "Ellen" show's deal with NBC stations happens to also be up in 2011 -- and execs there see Ellen DeGeneres as the heir to Winfrey's talk queen crown. Winfrey, who just put DeGeneres on the cover of her magazine, even appears to have an affinity for her rival.
Of course, DeGeneres could make a play for that crown even if "Ellen" sticks with the NBC stations, particularly if the ABC outlets opt to replace Winfrey with local news rather than another talkshow.
In a less likely scenario, Disney might see an opportunity to finally claim that news lead-in time slot for its own first-run syndicated strip. But given the company's dismal track record in that arena, such a move is unlikely.
Few execs believe a new host will rise from the ashes to carry Winfrey's mantle, even if Winfrey personally annoints a successor. (Winfrey pal Gayle King, long discussed as a potential successor, has already tried and failed with a show of her own.)
For CBS, Winfrey's departure will likely strike a blow to its bottom line, and reps a big loss to its syndicated unit.
But on the flip side, it could rep a boon to CBS' TV station group, which has seen ratings growth for its news product in some markets -- and now won't have to compete with "Oprah" and "Oprah"-fueled early newscasts on the ABC stations.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118011627.html?categoryid=14&cs=1
Winfrey broke the news to staffers at her Chicago-based Harpo production company on Thursday. She'll officially announce her exit on Friday.
Whether or not that means Winfrey will launch a new talker on her burgeoning cable partnership with Discovery, OWN, remains to be announced--but Winfrey is expected to have a major presence on the cabler. It's no secret Discovery topper David Zaslav would like to see the host move her show to the cable channel, which is expected to launch in January 2011.
Rumors of Winfrey's departure had been heavy over the last few weeks, after key "Oprah Winfrey Show" staffer Lisa Erspamer, who had been co-executive producer of the syndie strip since 2006, was tapped as Chief Creative Officer of OWN.
"We have the greatest respect for Oprah and wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors," "Oprah" distributor CBS said in a statement. "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 afterwards as well."
News comes just days after Harpo sealed a deal with Sony Pictures TV to launch a new syndie strip starring frequent Winfrey show guest Nate Berkus.
Had Winfrey decided to stick with the show, it was believed she would leave CBS TV Distribution and move to Sony.
Not only does her deal with stations -- particularly the ABC-owned and Hearst-owned outlets where she has dominated in the ratings for decades -- expire in fall 2011, but her deal with CBS Television Distribution is up as well.
Had she decided to stay, Winfrey was facing the likely prospect of doing her show for a lot less money. Stations have long been willing to just break even or lose money on "Oprah" in exchange for the ratings bounce it delivers as a local news lead-in. But in these cash-strapped times, local outlets wouldn't have been willing to pay the same rates they once did.
Winfrey had been coy about the future of her syndicated talkshow for more than a decade, having first hinted in the late 1990s that the show would end. She has gradually decreased the number of originals she produces; but last year, when a window in her contract opened up to terminate the show a year early, Winfrey didn't exercise that clause.
The December 2007 death of Roger King, the one-time King World topper who continued as CEO of CBS TV Distribution after selling the company to the Eye, also complicated matters. Winfrey dealt almost exclusively with King, and hadn't forged much of a relationship with the other execs inside CBS (save Bob Madden, a King World alum who's now senior exec VP at the Eye).
With King no longer there, Winfrey opted to launch her new "Dr. Oz" (and now "Berkus") strip with rival Sony Pictures TV.
Winfrey's departure will make for an unprecedented shift in syndicated daytime TV -- something that similarly happened in morning radio after Howard Stern split for satellite radio.
In one scenario, Warner Bros. Domestic TV Distribution might make a play to grab those ABC station slots for "Ellen." The "Ellen" show's deal with NBC stations happens to also be up in 2011 -- and execs there see Ellen DeGeneres as the heir to Winfrey's talk queen crown. Winfrey, who just put DeGeneres on the cover of her magazine, even appears to have an affinity for her rival.
Of course, DeGeneres could make a play for that crown even if "Ellen" sticks with the NBC stations, particularly if the ABC outlets opt to replace Winfrey with local news rather than another talkshow.
In a less likely scenario, Disney might see an opportunity to finally claim that news lead-in time slot for its own first-run syndicated strip. But given the company's dismal track record in that arena, such a move is unlikely.
Few execs believe a new host will rise from the ashes to carry Winfrey's mantle, even if Winfrey personally annoints a successor. (Winfrey pal Gayle King, long discussed as a potential successor, has already tried and failed with a show of her own.)
For CBS, Winfrey's departure will likely strike a blow to its bottom line, and reps a big loss to its syndicated unit.
But on the flip side, it could rep a boon to CBS' TV station group, which has seen ratings growth for its news product in some markets -- and now won't have to compete with "Oprah" and "Oprah"-fueled early newscasts on the ABC stations.
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118011627.html?categoryid=14&cs=1