Oprah Winfrey will launch a new television network with Discovery Communications that will be a “natural extension” of her show, her company said Tuesday.
“The Oprah Winfrey Network” will be a multi-platform media venture “designed to entertain, inform and inspire people to live their best lives,” according to a joint statement with Discovery, which owns the Discovery Network and Animal Planet, among others.
The new channel will debut in 2009 in more than 70 million homes, on what is currently the Discovery Health Channel.
The announcement builds a media empire that already includes the top-rated TV talk show, a magazine, a satellite radio network, a Web site and TV movies made under her banner.
“Fifteen years ago, I wrote in my journal that one day I would create a television network, as I always felt my show was just the beginning of what the future could hold,” said Winfrey, who is among the top-earning US celebrities and ranked second to US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in a recent US poll on most admired women.
“For me, the launch of ‘The Oprah Winfrey Network’ is the evolution of the work I’ve been doing on television all these years and a natural extension of my show,” she said.
She will be chairwoman of the network, owned 50-50 by Discovery and her company, Harpo Productions. In return for taking over a network already operated by Discovery, Winfrey gives up half ownership of the Oprah.com Web site.
Congratulations Oprah! She is doing big things!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Oprah “One Step Closer” To Monopolizing Every Spare Second Of Our Day
Chicago, IL–Oprah Winfrey, a true leviathan of the entertainment industry, has come one step closer to realizing her dream of inundating the public with non-stop 24/7 Oprah-generated content.
In a last-minute press conference, Oprah announced yesterday that she was debuting a new cable channel that would feature a live feed transmitted directly from her bedroom that will mainly show images of her sleeping peacefully through the night.
The new channel, tentatively titled “Oprah: Zzzzzzzz,” joins the recently announced “Oprah & Friends” program on XM satellite radio, Oprah’s “O” magazine, and her long-running daytime talk show on network TV.
“Oprah: Zzzzzzzz” will focus solely on Oprah’s nightly choice of sleepwear, midnight snacks, and the assortment of stuffed animals (and the occasional on-again, off-again boyfriends) that share her bed every evening.
“We’re not going to show any dirty stuff or anything,” says Oprah, “because, frankly, there isn’t much to show. I just thought that many of my viewers would feel better knowing where I was at all times.”
“Besides,” added Winfrey, “my tight schedule only allows for 30-45 minutes of sleep every night. The rest of the programming on the channel will be comprised of a designer-colored test pattern with the ‘Harpo Productions’ logo on it.”
“If my fans complain, I’ll just mail ‘em all new iPods or something. That will shut them up quick!”
Having met her highness at a couple of charity functions in this city…I can only say, the woman is a raging “c” word. I’ve never personally encountered someone with so much self-importance. The one time I was on the show, prior to moving here, once the cameras were off it’s like the woman pulled out a whole new personality–it was straight out of Something About Eve, I tell ya!
I JUST HOPE ALL YALL BLK FOLK GET BEHIND ME MY WIFEY WHEN IT COME NOT JUST TALK ABOUT IT BE ABOUT IT DONT DO USE LIKE ALL YALL DO KELLY AND MARIO BUT WE LUV THEM SO MUCH
I know who NYNY is and no, but your mama is. That’s why celebs or their associates don’t like these blogs.
I was wondering when the haters were going to show up…….oh well it’s done. Just don’t support it I am quite sure you have never supported anything else she has done it has not seemed to have blocked her success.
Maybe its because you or your mama wasn’t there when she said you get a car, you get a car, oh well.
I ain’t mad at you Oprah, WAY TO GO AND I WISH YOU MUCH MORE SUCCESS YOU DESERVE IT !!!!!!!
I am so happy for her. Finally, something to trump out BET.
Congrats!!!!
Oprah stay making big business moves…
She has mastered the game…credit where credit is due.
I gotta say, Oprah gives me hope , not just for myself, but for all women.
OMG..OPRAH IS TRULY THAT DEAL !! I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR AN EDUCATED BLACK PERSON TO BUY A NETWORK AND PROVIDE QUALITY CONTENT LIKE WE KNOW OPRAH CAN ..WITHOUT ALL THE SAME OLE COONERY!! I’M SO TIRED OF OUR CURRENT OPTIONS… BET (BOO!!) AND TV ONE (DBL BOOOO!!) IT’S BOUT TIME WE STEPPED IT UP A COUPLE NOTCHES!! MAN IMAGINE OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT AND OPRAH ACTUALLY HAVING A LEGITIMATE BLACK-OWNED NETWORK PROVIDING THE EDUCATION AND TRUTH LIKE ONLY SHE CAN..aahhhh…I HAVE A DREAM!!! GO-O-GO!!! SHE INSPIRES ME SOOO MUCH!!!
OPRAH FOR PRESIDENT 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Miss Oprah sold her part of the oxygen network to NBC universal for $ 925 Million dollars…
Oprah is the ish.. and everybody including those ignorant rappers wish she cared what they thought……
Way to go Oprah! All the best to her.
@60
That’s all she’s about is self-exaltation and the subliminal promotion of self-empowerment through lesbianism. The white man is co-signing her and setting her up as a false goddess to mislead these black women.
Both of your comments are based on ignorace and filtered by hate, like someone said you do not have to watch and you don’t even have to come to the Loop, with your poison. We love Oprah and it ain’t a blank, blank thing you can do about it, and we will make sure that Angel blocks your ignorant butts……….you bothe probably broke!!!!!!
If Ms.Oprah is a creep then your mama and daddy were the first creeps and you followed after them and the rest of your family Oprah would have to get in line…..now creep this. itches.
Oprah ain’t playing.
@ 63 JOAMA are you caucasian ? The “c” word as in the word c**t, that is a word that black people don’t use , why you here talking negatively about Ms. Winfrey, she IS a very inportant woman, as for her personality, she is human you can’t expect her to be on all the time. What’s the matter, she did’nt pay you enough attention at the charity function, made you feel real insignificant huh? White people don’t like that much do they? Oh well……..
Oprah is my “idol” (I’m using it figuartively so those who are religiously inclined please don’t take it personally). I respect her and what she has done coming from poverty. I’m glad she continues to push forward, because she little black girls (which I was when she first came on air) know that they can acheive anything they are willing to work for. When I watched her on the history/geneology special I cried the whole time. She is inspirational. I hope that we continue to support her,because she is facing a fallout from her other viewers since she endorsed Obama (put lightly, they are PISSED and accusing her of being a racist and a “traitor”….I guess they loved her so much they made her an honorary white woman. Crazy…
She is the absolute shiznit…………. (there aren’t too many words that will encompass her kind of greatness).
@78
I’m glad someone else picked up on that. I’ve noticed a lot of posts by people whose language use and choice of lexicon would seem to indicate they are not people of color…and before anyone jumps up and down, I’m not saying that all blacks use Ebonics…I am saying there are phrases and words popping up, particularly in the posts on Obama and now on Oprah, that are suspect.
@74 Judah, brother..I usually agree with most of what you say on here, but I have to disagree with this post. And before you typecast me as some man-hating black woman who is tearing down the race” , I am about as far away from a “deaf dumb and blind” blackwoman as you can get. I married a good black man and his legal surname is “Allah”…which should tell you I’m not really dealing with the dominant culture’s mentality. , I’m fairly anti-establishment most ways. That being said:
I think your assessment of Oprah is unfair here. I have never seen or heard her promote lesbianism and I have never heard of her promoting a “I don’t need a man” attitude. I notice her interactions with black men are particularly warm. Probably warmer than I’ve noticed her demeanor towards other women. I think she is single out of necessity not because she hates men.
My experience has been that once you reach a certain level of wealth or success, there are many black men who will assume that you are bougie and won’t even attempt to approach you. I have been approached by many MANY brothers who would gladly ignore my wedding ring and still try to date me, but who instantly end the conversation when they learn I’m a corporate attorney. It is like instant intimidation. What I find hilarious about it, is that most of them would be surprised to know that the man I love, married, and raise my family with, is a blue-collar brother. Now, I am comfortable, but nowhere NEAR rich. So can you imagine how hard it has to be for Oprah in her encounters with black men? What is she supposed to do?
I understand that many brothers have a valid issue with some black women who use their “independence” to beat a brother in the head–but many brothers who feel this way are also responsible for perpetuating the myth that we are in competition. We are not in competition. That is not our way, it is not the way we handled gender relations in Africa (pre-colonial) and I would assert that the very idea that we are in competition or at war for supremacy of blackman over blackwoman or vice versa is, in fact, the real TRICK. Side by Side like Amenhotep and Tiye is how our ancestors carried it. We’ve got to get back to that.
@63
Awwww. She won’t play “mammy” for people anymore and they are upset about it. Oprah’s “mammy days” are over. I think Queens are entitled to a certain amount of healthy arrogance. She earned it. You guys are going to have to go find another black “mammy” to pamper and console you.
Wow. I ain’t mad atcha, Oprah……….do you!
@13…..ROFLMAO….I could just picture Donald Trump doing exactly that. Hilarious.
@60 …There is more than enough room for Black people to get into the business world and as you put it “GIVE THE YOUNG GENERATION A CHANCE LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE DO”.
There are several other young celebrities that are making positive moves in the business world. “STOP HATIN” – Not a good look.
If you want to comment on the young generation not having a chance- tell them to get “educated” – in all senses of the word.
@74…Glad you are not a a sheep falling for the “self-exaltation and the subliminal promotion of self-empowerment through lesbianism”. I’m sure you would much rather follow the Busch’s of the world, be ignorant and stay the course.
- It is what it is…
@84
It definitely is what it is, isn’t it, lol? It never ceases to amaze me the level of stupidity of the people that get offended by what I think when they obviously cannot comprehend what I’m getting at. Honestly, if education is the key, and the government controls it and is allegedly colorblind, then education shouldn’t be the issue. So obviously, America’s educational system is not the key to our salvation as a race of people. What does anything that I’ve said have to do with George Bush, lol? I get very tired of black people, their subscription to the white man’s idealism, and how easily they get offended when certain blacks don’t buy what the white man is selling. You wouldn’t try to convince the white man with opinion, you’d come at him with proof and statistics, so pretend I’m him. The word “hatin” needs to be retired also please, lol.
@81
I expect people to disagree with me most of the time, sis. It’s never a surprise. You don’t have to justify your blackness to me either (not saying that you are). I’ve seen your posts and I have a great deal of respect for your opinion. My opinion on Oprah is like most of my opinions, it’s based off of what I pick up in the spirit. This is why I specified the SUBLIMINAL promotion of lesbianism and interracial dating. The tacit messages that she puts forth are not meant to be grasped by everyone. It’s known that Disney animated films contain x-rated images between the frames but the naked eye can’t see them. I’ve seen many shows where she blatantly endorsed interracial dating and honestly, even the white man surmises about her relationship with “Gayle”. The only black male that she has on her show consistently is her homosexual assistant (big surprise). The Imus show was a charade and a public lynching of 4 black men that had nothing to do with anything. The “Something New” episode was also hysterical due to Sanaa Lathan proclaiming that the “brothers need to catch up to the sisters”, when the only reason why she’s in Hollywood is because of her father. Basically any alternative to black male/female relationships. Like I touched on before, look at Oprah’s audience and you’ll see what she’s about and who she appeals to. There are certainly no black men in her audience and very few black women. Oprah is a WORLD figure, not just a black female icon, and as such she must appeal to and serve the dominate class of people on the earth. Even the acronym of her network has a cryptic meaning but I’ll leave it where it is.
If a black man is willing to ignore your wedding ring to date you, nothing else about the man is relevant and he certainly doesn’t have enough integrity to deal with any intellectual depth whatsoever because he’s already established that he has no respect. As far as brothers being intimidated by “successful” women, I think that that is a factor but it’s also equally a factor that “successful” women look for men to be intimidated by them and honestly, most “successful” women do not feel comfortable with a man that has a less prestigious job than them. Examine the next red carpet event and see how many “successful” women are with regular men as opposed to “successful” men with regular women, especially of our people. Many sisters strive for more in this society because they are more comfortable and made to feel more comfortable in this society than black men. If the average woman in corporate America has an ego too large for the black man, I can only imagine the size of Oprah’s ego. For all intents and purposes, she only has to anwser to the elite whites.
I agree that many black men have an inferiority complex and feel inept when dealing with the black woman, but that is because their minds are not trained and they are forced to deal with black women according to the black woman’s terms as stipulated by this society. Black men do not put their spirit into this society like many sisters do, so they have a “go with the flow” mentality that leads to paranoia that they will be taken advantage of because of their distrust of this system. As far as black men and black women not being in competition, I would have to respectfully disagree sis. The roles are murky in the home and in the workplace so if people don’t know their role and are not comfortable in their roles, they will compete for the same roles unwittingly. I don’t think that black women go out and say, “I want a job so a nigga don’t get one!”, but there are only so many to go around. It’s a deep issue and it’s characteristic of a cycle. Everything is cyclical, it’s just a matter of whether the cycle is constructive or destructive. I don’t identify with the romanticism of ancient Egypt or Africa so the archetypes of the black male/female relationship that are pushed on our people don’t appeal to me.
I thought she already had one, Oxygen?
@Judah,
I can understand some of your perspective. I had a very strong father and strong but genteel “southern” mother who I’m sure laid the foundation for how I interact with black men. My husband and I have an unusual relationship because we were best friends for many years before geting married. I can say that when we were friends, he told me about women who acted in the ways you have described. On the other hand, I have known many sincere, respectful, “stand-by-your-man” type sisters who have suffered tremendously at the hands of black males who are taking out their rage on the women closest to them and acting out their feelings of powerlessness (imposed by the dominant culture) on the very women who are struggling to survive beside them. Wrong target…..and we as a whole are the only ones getting hurt by it.
I
@ Judah,
I think you obviously didn’t understand the meaning of my either. First off the education comment was @60. If young people attempted to educate themselves in all aspects of life (business, economy, health, intellect, politics…) including the basic ability to read and write, then more opportunities would be available to them. They need to understand the world is bigger than BET and their own communities. There would be no need for the Oprah’s of the world to stand aside in order from the young people to shine.
Second, the George Busch comment was a euphemism. You claim that people are so misguided by Oprah and that the white man is pulling her chains to conquer the ignorant black folks. In reality someone is pulling your chain, my chain and everyone else’s chain.
Third we all new the government education statistics are outdated, comprised and partially untrue so I’m not going to waste my time giving you government statistics. What I will tell you is look on the street corners of most black communities, look who is locked up in the prison system, look at who is always on the news for doing petty and senseless street crimes. There is your facts. Young people need to get educated on LIFE.
Since you’ve asked me to retire the word “hate”, stop showing hostility, disgust, detestation and abhorrence. I’m not mad, just stating my opinion as well. You sound like a brother that ‘s coming correct but don’t think your intellect is above anyone else’s.
- Again, It is what it is.
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