Chicago Talk Show Queen Oprah Winfrey is launching her own cable channel Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), which is set to streams live into 85 million US homes.Winfrey, 56, has had a successful run of 35 years on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' since it was first launched in 1986.
Los Angeles-based OWN shares a contract with Discovery Health Channel that was initially set to launch in 2008 and will be finally launched today after three years of delay, Chicago Sun-Times reported."I'm really just trying to get on the air. I'm trying to think of the role OWN is going to play on January 2, and the 3rd and the 4th," Winfrey said.
From the couch-jumping episode of Tom Cruise to interviewing Bollywood couple Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachchan, Winfrey has come a long way.Winfrey says she was initially reluctant to end her hugely popular daytime show.
"What I realized is the 'Oprah' show has had its time and its run and its ability to affect and influence, and that now it's time for something else," she said.
OWN, a 24-hour cable channel, will feature programmes that aim to guide viewers and establish itself as a "force of good" a platform that helps people "see the best of themselves," she added.
The innumerable talk shows that have played out in the US living rooms for so many years will also be re-run for some time on OWN until Winfrey develops more programmes and finds a stronghold in the cable channel market.
On OWN, the multiple Emmy Award winner will feature a a cooking series with Cristina Ferrare, a sex advice show with Dr Laura Berman, style makeovers with Carson Kressley, a series about the mother-daughter relationship of Naomi and Wynonna Judd, a "docu-reality" series about women prisoners in Indiana and TV release of film 'Precious'.
She will also be seen in the series "Oprah Presents Master Class" and "Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star".
Discovery Health, one of DISCA's channels, is ending and being rebranded as the OWN. Winfrey's production company and Discovery Communications each own a 50 per cent stake in the new network. Shares of Discovery Communications (DISCA) were trading higher today on the eve of OWN's debut.
