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Oprah Launching Her Own Cable Network

Posted on: Wednesday, 16 January 2008, 06:00 CST

By David Lieberman

NEW YORK -- Oprah Winfrey is getting her own cable channel, called OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network.

A deal announced Tuesday with Discovery Communications will create a 50-50 cable and Web venture.

In the cashless transaction, Discovery will contribute its Discovery Health Channel, to be converted to OWN in late 2009 and simulcast in HD. Launched in 1999, the channel reaches more than 70 million cable and satellite homes.

Winfrey's company, Harpo, will kick in her website, Oprah.com.

Winfrey will be chairman and wield editorial control. The partners will pick a CEO to handle day-to-day operations.

She wants a partnership like the one she has with Hearst for O, The Oprah Magazine. "I am the voice of the magazine and the vision of the magazine, but I have people there who can execute that voice and vision," she said.

Her goal is a network "that will inspire and entertain people around issues of money, weight, health, relationships, spirit, helping people to raise their children and give back, teaching people to be all that they can be in the world," said Winfrey, whose empire includes her TV show, Harpo Films and Oprah's Books.

She gave few details about programming for OWN or how much she'll spend. Discovery CEO David Zaslav said it will be "primarily non-fiction."

Winfrey said that until her contract with CBS-owned King World Productions expires in 2011, she can't put her syndicated TV show or reruns on OWN. But she added, "Eventually that will happen, we hope."

OWN will differ from cable channel Oxygen, where she was a founding investor. "That channel did not reflect my voice," she said. "Shortly after the deal, I took myself off the board."

OWN could provide a boost for Discovery, where Zaslav is re-energizing its middle-of-the-pack channels.

Discovery Health faced an uncertain prognosis. It is drawing fewer than 200,000 prime-time viewers at a time when cable and satellite services want to cut payments for channels with small audiences. "They need audiences to jump-start (Health)," said SNL Kagan's Derek Baine.

He said that Discovery Health became profitable in 2007, with $7.4 million in cash flow on revenue of $141.8 million. Discovery spokesman David Leavy said those numbers are "a bit high" but would not be more precise.

Said Zaslav, "We will put all of our resources at Discovery ... to try and push through (OWN's) mission."

Discovery, which is going public, hasn't decided whether to consolidate the venture into its financial reports.

Source: USA TODAY

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