Harpo Productions
Company type | Subsidiary | |
---|---|---|
Industry | Media | |
Founded | 1986 | |
Founder | Oprah Winfrey | |
Headquarters |
| |
Key people |
| |
Owner | Oprah Winfrey Parent Harpo, Inc. | |
Divisions |
|
Harpo Productions (or Harpo Studios) is an American
History
The company's origins can trace back to 1985 when Oprah appeared in The Color Purple. Winfrey founded her own company in 1986.
Oprah Winfrey got her roots in 1988 when Harpo Productions had to acquire
Harpo Productions' subsidiaries consist of Harpo Print, the company's publishing house, and a minority interest in cable network
Past subsidiaries include Harpo Films, the company's film studio which shut down in early 2013, and Harpo Radio, the company's radio broadcasting division that shuttered on January 1, 2015.[9] The company was previously based in Chicago, with Harpo Studios situated in the West Loop neighborhood. The building was demolished in 2016, and new headquarters for McDonald's opened on the site in 2018.[10]
In January 2021, it was announced that Harpo Productions will produce an Oprah Winfrey documentary for Apple TV+.[11] That documentary series became known as The Me You Can't See, which Winfrey co-hosts with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.
Divisions
Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN)
On January 1, 2011, the
Harpo Print, LLC
Together with Hearst Magazines, Harpo Print, LLC publishes O, The Oprah Magazine.[13] The company also published O at Home, which Hearst officially folded in 2008 after a four-year run.[14] In July 2020, it was announced that O, The Oprah Magazine will end its regular print edition after the December 2020 issue.[15][16] The December 2020 of O Magazine featured an article where Oprah thanked readers and also acknowledged it was the magazine's "final monthly print edition."[17]
Former properties
Harpo Studios
Harpo Studios was the home of The Oprah Winfrey Show from January 15, 1990. located in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago. The studio also housed
The land where the production studio stood once housed the 2nd Regiment Armory that was used as a makeshift morgue for victims of the capsizing of the steamer SS Eastland.[19] The 88,000-square-foot (8,200 m2) facility was renovated and opened in the late 1980s for her show.[20]
Former divisions
Harpo Films, Inc.
Company type | Division |
---|---|
Industry | Film production |
Founded |
|
Defunct | 2013 | (as telefilm producer)
Headquarters | United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
Owner | Harpo, Inc. |
Parent | Harpo Productions |
Founded in 1993, Harpo Films, Inc. was the biggest division of Harpo Productions, run by
In late 2008, Harpo Films signed an exclusive output pact with HBO.[21] Previously, Harpo Films had a deal with ABC, which included production of Oprah Winfrey Presents: Mitch Albom's For One More Day.[21] In February 2013, Harpo Films was shut down, citing that "the demand for long-form projects, especially on the broadcast side, has dried out."[22] Many of its employees were expected to move on to Harpo Studios' new scripted series division.[22] A small number of films already in production were released under the Harpo Films banner in 2014. Since then, the label has appeared irregularly on various films for which Winfrey has served as a producer.
Feature films
- Buena Vista Pictures Distribution; first film)
- Metro Goldwyn Mayer)
- Lee Daniels Entertainment, Smokewood Entertainment and 34th Street Films; distributed by Lionsgate)
- EMEA)
- 20th Century Foxin United Kingdom)
- The Water Man (2021) (as producer; co-production with ShivHans Pictures and Yoruba Saxon Productions; distributed by RLJE Films in United States and Internationally by Netflix)
- The Color Purple (2023) (as producer (credited onscreen as OW Films); co-production with Amblin Entertainment and Scott Sanders Productions; distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures)[23]
Telefilms
- Oprah Winfrey Presents: Mitch Albom's For One More Day
- Tuesdays with Morrie
- Their Eyes Were Watching God
- Amy & Isabelle
- David & Lisa
- The Wedding
- Before Women Had Wings
Harpo Radio, Inc.
Harpo Radio, Inc. was the holding company for the Oprah & Friends channel (156 on XM Satellite Radio). Oprah & Friends featured a broad range of daily and weekly programming on a variety of topics including self-improvement, nutrition, fitness, parenting, health, home, finance, and current events hosted by personalities from The Oprah Winfrey Show and O, The Oprah Magazine.
Regular presenters included specialists from a variety of fields, including
Harpo Radio, Inc. produced and broadcast the Oprah & Friends channel from an
References
- ^ a b Rose, Lacey (March 3, 2015). "Oprah Winfrey on Closing Harpo Studios, OWN Expansion, Broadway Plans". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
- ^ a b Channick, Robert (March 3, 2015). "Harpo studios to close in December, officials say". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
- ^ "Harpo Inc. | Private Stock: Annual Report & Profile:PrivCo". privco.com. PrivCo.
- ^ "Oprah Winfrey: she invented skirtsHome". Urban Hustler.
- ^ "Oprah reups with King World" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 8, 1988. Retrieved October 1, 2021.
- ^ a b c Flint, Joe (December 4, 2017). "Oprah Winfrey Sells Part of Stake in OWN Network to Discovery; Discovery will control 70% of OWN after purchase of stake for $70 million". The Wall Street Journal Online. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
- ^ a b Smith, Gerry (December 4, 2017). "Discovery Boosts Its Stake in Oprah Winfrey Network". Bloomberg. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
- ^ Goldsmith, Jill (December 22, 2020). "Discovery Boosts Stake In OWN, Oprah Winfrey Takes Stock In Longtime Partner". Deadline. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
- ^ a b Hinckley, David (January 8, 2015). "Oprah Winfrey's SiriusXM channel goes off the air". New York Daily News.
- ^ Koziarz, Jay (August 2, 2016). "Demolition of the former Harpo Studios building closes a chapter of Chicago history". Curbed Chicago.
- ^ "An Oprah Winfrey Documentary Is Being Produced For Release On Apple TV+". Black Enterprise. January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ "Oprah's OWN Network Launch Draws Solid Reviews Even From The Cynics". Business Insider. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
- ^ "Harpo Studios Announces the Formation of Harpo Creative Works", Oprah.com, June 22, 2010.
- ^ Pérez-Peña, Richard (November 8, 2008). "Hearst to Close Its Spinoff of O, the Oprah Magazine". The New York Times.
- ^ "Oprah's O Mag to end regular print editions after 20 years". AP NEWS. July 27, 2020.
- ^ ARBEL, TALI (July 28, 2020). "Oprah's O Mag to end regular print editions after 20 years". Chron.
- ^ Winfrey, Oprah (November 17, 2020). "Oprah Thanks Readers of O in the Magazine's Last Monthly Issue". O, the Oprah Magazine. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
- ^ Bomkamp, Samantha (July 26, 2016). "Harpo Studios demolished to make room for new McDonald's headquarters". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ "The Oprah Winfrey Show trivia", Oprah.com. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
- ^ Colander, Pat (March 12, 1989). "Oprah Winfrey's Odyssey: Talk-Show Host to Mogul". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Frankel, Daniel (December 16, 2008). "Oprah Winfrey pacts with HBO". Variety.
- ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie. "Harpo Films Prez Kate Forte Out As Harpo Shifts Attention From Films To Scripted TV". Deadline Hollywood (February 11, 2013).
- ^ Rubin, Rebecca (December 23, 2020). "Warner Bros. to Release Mad Max: Fury Road Prequel and The Color Purple Musical in Theaters in 2023". Variety. Archived from the original on December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
External links
- Harpo Productions Archived January 13, 2020, at the Wayback Machine