Oprah Winfrey Network
CFO ) | |
Sister channels | |
---|---|
History | |
Launched | January 1, 2011 |
Replaced | Internet Protocol television |
Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is an American multinational
The network is spearheaded by television personality (and namesake) Oprah Winfrey and features entertainment, self-help and lifestyle specials aimed at not only
Initially a 50/50 joint venture, Discovery acquired a larger stake in the network in 2017 and again in December 2020, when Discovery increased its ownership in OWN from 73% to 95%. Harpo remains a "significant" minority stakeholder, and Winfrey is contracted with the channel through (at least) 2025.
As of February 2015, OWN is available to approximately 81.9 million pay television households (70.3% of households with television) in the United States.[2]
History
Development
After becoming Discovery Communications' new CEO in 2007,
Winfrey would serve as the chairwoman of the channel, which was expected to deal in factual programming oriented towards her personal philosophy of "living your best life"; this would include topics such as health, love, parenting, and spirituality. Discovery provided $100 million in funding, and Harpo provided access to its library and Winfrey's website, Oprah.com.
Winfrey and her long-time partner Stedman Graham had discussed the idea of forming her own channel as early as 1992. After Winfrey demonstrated discontent over "confrontational" talk shows on television, Graham suggested that she should form an "Oprah Winfrey Network" if she were dissatisfied with the current state of television.[3] OWN was not Winfrey's first cable television venture, having been co-founder of the women's cable network Oxygen. However, her involvement was limited to being an investor and eventually offering it an after-show component, Oprah After the Show, after deciding not to offer her reruns to the network; Winfrey distanced herself from Oxygen when discussing OWN, stressing the importance of actually having influence over programming when participating in such ventures.[3][4]
Delays and launch
In November 2008, Zaslav stated that Winfrey had planned to not renew her contract with CBS for The Oprah Winfrey Show beyond the 2010–11 season, and that the show could move to OWN in some form following the end of the syndicated run. Harpo Productions denied the report, stating that Winfrey "has not made a final decision as to whether she will continue her show in syndication beyond [2011]".[5] The development of OWN was affected by internal conflicts, as well as Winfrey's continued commitment to her talk show. Its launch was pushed back from its originally-announced target of 2009 to an unspecified date. Zaslav pressured Oprah into moving her talk show to the channel, believing that it could boost its business.[3]
In November 2009, Lisa Erspamer—a Harpo executive who had been a co-executive producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show since 2006—was named chief creative officer of OWN.
The official launch of OWN was set for January 1, 2011, so that it would occur while Oprah's talk show was still on the air. Plans now called for at least 600 hours of original programming in 2011, as well as acquired and library programming (including reruns of The Oprah Winfrey Show later in the year, and Dr. Phil); although Winfrey did make appearances in some of the programming aired on-launch (such as Oprah's Master Class), her involvement was expected to increase following the end of The Oprah Winfrey Show.[3] After the launch of OWN, Discovery Health's programming was merged into another Discovery-owned channel, FitTV—which rebranded as Discovery Fit & Health a month later on February 1, 2011.[8][9] It was subsequently re-branded again as Discovery Life in 2015.[10]
Early struggles, targeting African Americans
During its first year of operation, OWN struggled to build an audience and viewership,[11] with most of its programs being low-rated besides Our America with Lisa Ling (the first OWN program to be renewed for a second season), and Season 25: Oprah Behind The Scenes. Its average viewership was 135,000 during its second month on air, which was lower than that of Discovery Health.[12][13] Norman defended the network's ratings, stating that first-run broadcasts of its original series were drawing larger audiences than those of Discovery Health, and that Discovery's goal was to improve OWN's monthly audience to between 50 and 60 million viewers by the end of the year.[12] In March 2011, the channel modified its schedule to only have three original nights of primetime programming per-week, moving Oprah Behind The Scenes to Sunday nights alongside Oprah's Master Class.[13]
On May 6, 2011, OWN's CEO Christina Norman was removed, and replaced by Discovery executive Peter Liguori as an interim CEO.
The Rosie Show—a talk show hosted by another formerly-syndicated personality, Rosie O'Donnell—also premiered in October, to an average of 497,000 viewers (along with an additional million via a simulcast across sister channels Discovery Fit & Health, Investigation Discovery, Planet Green, and TLC).[17] By November, its ratings had fallen to an average of 171,000 nightly viewers.[18] In January 2012, an attempt was made to retool the program by hiring Shane Farley (producer of the syndicated Rosie O'Donnell Show), and giving it a smaller, more intimate studio.[6][19][20] However, viewership was still low, and the series was cancelled in March 2012.[21]
During its first year of operations, OWN's average primetime audience was 264,000 viewers. This was only slightly higher than the average primetime audience of 216,000 the channel had as Discovery Health.
The channel's losses were estimated to be $330 million as of May 2012.[23] Discovery responded by raising the channel's retransmission consent fee (OWN was provided to cable providers effectively for free for its first two years on air) to a level more in line with other basic cable channels, a move that the company expected to allow the channel to break even in late-2013.[24]
On September 15, 2012, OWN premiered Iyanla: Fix My Life—a reality series starring Iyanla Vanzant. It attracted critical acclaim and a large audience; its two-night premiere event was seen by 1.1 and 1.6 million total viewers respectively. The Sunday-night airing was the third-highest-rated program of the night across ad-supported cable networks, and was the highest-rated program of the night among women 18-49 and African American women 25–54.[25][26][27]
Tyler Perry development deal, expansion into scripted programming
By October 2012, OWN had seen increases in audience share, especially among women in the
By July 2013, Discovery considered the network to be "cash flow positive".
In May 2016, Sheri Salata stepped down as co-president to launch a new "brand innovation" agency (although Winfrey and OWN were expected to be among her first clients). This left Erik Logan as sole president of the network.[36] The June 2016 premiere of Greenleaf was OWN's highest-rated series premiere to date, with 3.04 million viewers.[37] Queen Sugar also premiered later in September to acclaim, with both series ranking among the top 5 ad-supported drama series on cable among women 25–54.[27]
In July 2017, Tyler Perry signed a new film and television/short form development deal with
In December 2017, Discovery announced that it would acquire an additional 24.5% stake in OWN that it did not already own, for $70 million, with Harpo remaining as a significant minority shareholder, and Winfrey remaining CEO. Winfrey also extended her exclusivity agreement with the network and Discovery through 2025.[39] In April 2018, OWN ordered two new series from Will Packer—the drama Ambitions and the dating show Ready to Love.[40] In July 2018, Winfrey signed a non-exclusive, multi-platform content deal with Apple Inc.; it is not expected to affect her role at OWN.[41]
Wired considered OWN to have had a "major stake" in the push towards more diverse portrayals of African Americans in television, while Iyanla Vanzant argued that OWN had been "celebrating the unseen" among African Americans with shows that "give the minds of the viewers a different interpretation than the one that's often put out in the world."[27]
In October 2018, network president Erik Logan announced that he would step down at the end of the year to pursue a job as head of content for the World Surf League. He will be succeeded by Tina Perry, who had worked business and legal affairs for MTV, VH1, and OWN.[42][43]
On June 9 and 10, 2020, OWN broadcast OWN Spotlight: Where Do We Go From Here?—a two-night special hosted by Winfrey that discussed systemic racism and police brutality in U.S. society, in the wake of protests over the police murder of George Floyd. The special featured appearances by politicians such as Stacey Abrams and Mayor of Atlanta Keisha Lance Bottoms, and other journalists and personalities. The special was simulcast by all Discovery networks, and was seen by an average of 7.3 million viewers across both nights.[44]
In December 2020, Discovery increased its ownership in OWN from 73% to 95% for $35 million in an all-stock deal, giving Harpo approximately 1.34 million shares in Discovery.[45]
In April 2022, Discovery Inc. merged with
Programming
As of March 2014, the network's programming primarily consists of
Scripted programming
In October 2012, OWN expanded into scripted programming by announcing an exclusive development deal with
On February 2, 2015, OWN announced that it had ordered
In July 2017, Queen Sugar was renewed for a third season, and Harpo Films signed DuVernay to a first-look television and digital media deal.[57] In August 2017, OWN also ordered Tarell Alvin McCraney's David Makes Man, a coming-of-age drama set in South Florida.[58][59] McCraney stated that he was given offers by other outlets such as Netflix, but that Winfrey (who had made a surprise visit when he visited the network to pitch the series) "from the start was wanting to open the story up and understand what it was about".[27]
OWN cancelled The Paynes in August 2019.[60]
On August 20, 2021, it was reported that OWN was in negotiations to pick up the canceled CBS legal drama
International
In Canada, the former Canadian version of Discovery Health, owned by
In April 2013,
See also
- List of United States cable and satellite television networks
References
- ^ "People Are Convinced That Oprah Owns the Entire Discovery Network". Distractify. June 11, 2020. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (February 22, 2015). "List of how many homes each cable network is in as of February 2015". TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Archived from the original on February 23, 2015. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Stelter, Brian (December 18, 2010). "Oprah's Network Is Her Highest Hurdle". The New York Times. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ a b "Discovery, Winfrey to Team Up On Network". Washington Post. Retrieved April 29, 2017.
- ^ "Will Oprah Winfrey End Show in 2011?". TV Guide. November 8, 2008. Retrieved November 12, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e de Moraes, Lisa (January 26, 2012). "At Oprah Winfrey Network, the Revolving Door Spins Again". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 12, 2012.
- ^ Stelter, Brian (November 20, 2009). "A Tearful Winfrey Explains Her Departure". Media Decoder. The New York Times. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
- ^ "Discovery Health Lives On, Combining With FitTV". Multichannel. January 17, 2011. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ "Discovery To Launch New Health, Fitness Channel". TVNewsCheck. January 17, 2011. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
- ^ Lieberman, David (July 8, 2014). "Discovery Will Rebrand Fit & Health Channel As Discovery Life". Retrieved August 27, 2016.
- ^ a b Finke, Nikki; de Moraes, Lisa (August 16, 2013). "Oprah Winfrey Talks OWN Network, Failure, And Symptoms Of Her Nervous Breakdown". Deadline. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ a b Stelter, Brian (February 28, 2011). "Oprah's New Channel Struggles to Pull In Viewers". The New York Times. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (March 9, 2011). "OWN Moves 'Behind The Scenes' To Sunday, Goes To 3 Nights Of Original Programming". Deadline. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ "Oprah Replaces OWN CEO, Says Network Is 'Not Where I Want It to Be'". TV Guide. May 9, 2011.
- ^ a b "OWN Shifting Attention to Its African-American Viewers". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ "OWN To Launch 'Super Soul Sunday' Block". Deadline. September 27, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ "Rosie O'Donnell's New OWN Talk Show Soft in Ratings Debut". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ "The Biz: Analyzing This Season's Talk Shows". TVGuide.com. November 15, 2011. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ "OWN Revamps 'The Rosie Show' With New Set, Exec Producer". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ Metz, Nina. "Rosie's new talk show set a head-scratcher". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ "OWN Cancels Rosie O'Donnell Talk Show". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (March 12, 2012). "Oprah's Interview With Whitney Houston's Daughter Delivers Ratings Record For OWN". Deadline. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ Cook, Wendy (May 13, 2012). "Oprah OWN Losses Mounting — Network Off a Reported $330 Million, Off The Air Soon?". The National Ledger. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
- ^ Caramanica, Jon (September 14, 2012). "'Iyanla: Fix My Life,' on OWN". The New York Times. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ Patten, Dominic (September 18, 2012). "OWN's 'Iyanla: Fix My Life' Debuts Strong, 'Welcome To Sweetie Pie's' Return Hits Series High". Deadline. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f "How Oprah's Network Finally Found Its Voice". WIRED. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (October 1, 2012). "Oprah' OWN And Tyler Perry In Deal For Scripted Series: Exclusive & Multi-Year". Deadline. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ a b Philiana Ng (April 4, 2013). "OWN Sets Premieres for Tyler Perry's Scripted Series, Greenlights Two Shows". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 8, 2013.
- ^ O'Connell, Michael (May 29, 2013). "TV Ratings: Tyler Perry Premiere Gives OWN a Record Launch". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 29, 2013). "Solid Debut For Tyler Perry's 'The Haves And Have Nots' On OWN". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
- ^ Patten, Dominic (September 4, 2013). "OWN's 'The Haves & The Have Nots' Finale Ratings High, TNT's 'Cold Justice' Premiere Strong". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
- ^ Kissell, Rick (March 12, 2014). "'Haves and Have Nots' Sets OWN Ratings Record With Its Finale". Variety. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ Patten, Dominic (January 8, 2014). "OWN's 'The Haves & The Have Nots' Returns With Series & Network High". Deadline. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ "Discovery CEO Zaslav Declares OWN Cash-Flow Positive". Adweek. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ "Sheri Salata Exits as OWN Co-President". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
- ^ Patten, Dominic (June 22, 2016). "Oprah-Starring 'Greenleaf' Delivers OWN's Best Debut Ratings Ever". Deadline. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (July 14, 2017). "Tyler Perry Inks Mega Film & Television Deal With Viacom". Deadline. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (December 4, 2017). "Discovery Communications Ups Stake In OWN Via $70 Million Harpo Deal, Oprah Winfrey Extends Contract Through 2025". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
- ^ Holloway, Daniel (April 17, 2018). "OWN Orders Two Series From Will Packer". Variety. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ "Oprah Winfrey Inks Content Deal With Apple". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ "OWN Exec Moves: Tina Perry Named GM, Erik Logan Departing for World Surf League". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
- ^ "Tina Perry Named GM of OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved November 25, 2018.
- ^ Patten, Dominic (June 12, 2020). "Oprah Sees 11M Tune In For Two-Night 'Where Do We Go From Here?' Special On George Floyd Death & Race In America". Deadline. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
- ^ Goldsmith, Jill (December 22, 2020). "Discovery Boosts Stake In OWN, Oprah Winfrey Takes Stock In Longtime Partner". Deadline. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
- ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (April 7, 2022). "WarnerMedia-Discovery Deal To Forge Deeper Ties Between OWN, Warner Bros. TV & HBO Max". Deadline. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 20, 2013). "OWN Picks Up Tyler Perry's Sitcom 'For Better Or Worse', Orders Third Season". Deadline. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- The Wrap. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
- ^ "OWN Orders Series Based on Tyler Perry's 'Single Moms Club'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ "OWN Wants More Tyler Perry — And Gets It". Deadline. February 27, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ Pedersen, Erik (November 21, 2017). "Three Tyler Perry Series Get OWN Premiere Dates, Including Spinoff 'The Paynes'". Deadline. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ Levin, Gary (February 2, 2015). "Oprah, DuVernay creating new drama for OWN". USA Today. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
- ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (February 2, 2015). "Oprah Winfrey & Ava DuVernay Creating Original Drama Series For OWN". Variety. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
- ^ Denise Petski (July 30, 2015). "OWN Sets Megachurch Drama Series From Craig Wright & Lionsgate". Deadline. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
- ^ Reece Ristau (July 30, 2015). "OWN Picks Up Megachurch Drama". Variety. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
- ^ de Moraes, Lisa (August 15, 2016). "'Greenleaf' Adds EP Kathleen McGhee-Anderson For Season 2". Deadline. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
- ^ Otterson, Joe (July 26, 2017). "'Queen Sugar' Renewed for Season 3, Ava DuVernay Inks First-Look TV Deal With Harpo Films". Variety. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ Petski, Denise; Andreeva, Nellie (August 16, 2017). "OWN Orders Coming-Of-Age Drama Series From 'Moonlight's Tarell Alvin McCraney". Deadline. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (June 26, 2018). "Tarell Alvin McCraney's OWN Series Sets Cast Led By Phylicia Rashad & Akili McDowell, Gets Title & Showrunner". Deadline. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
- ^ Ho, Rodney (August 6, 2019). "OWN ends 'The Paynes,' but will Tyler Perry's comedy move to BET or not?". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved August 7, 2019.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (August 20, 2021). "'All Rise' Eyes Comeback With Season 3 Pickup By OWN After CBS Cancellation". Deadline. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
- ^ "Discovery Health Rebrands As Twist TV" Archived September 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Corus Entertainment (news release) (September 29, 2010). "OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network Comes to Canada". CNW Group. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
- ^ "Corus Entertainment Announces March 1, 2011 as the Canadian Launch Date for OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network". CNW. November 9, 2010.
- ^ Corus Entertainment (June 19, 1999). "Shaw Communications' Broadcast Properties Take on New Corporate Identity". Archived from the original on February 13, 2009. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
- ^ Época (May 12, 2011). "Oprah Winfrey quer trazer seu canal para o Brasil" [Oprah Winfrey wants to bring her channel to Brazil] (in Portuguese). Retrieved December 6, 2011.
- ^ Tambay A. Obenson (May 20, 2013). "Oprah Winfrey & Discovery Networks Int'l Partner To Launch OWN Programming Block In The UK". IndieWire. Archived from the original on March 17, 2014. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ O'Connell, Michael (April 3, 2013). "OWN Launching Oprah Winfrey Block on TLC's New U.K. Effort (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 29, 2013.
- ^ "OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and Discovery International to Launch OWN Programming Block in Australia, Exclusively on Discovery Home & Health". The Futon Critic. June 17, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
- ^ "OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and Discovery International Announce Exclusive OWN Programming Block in South Africa". The Futon Critic (Press release). September 20, 2013.
- ^ "Oprah Winfrey is on TLC in the UK and Poland - @OWNTV". Oprah.com. Retrieved March 17, 2014.