Oprah to announce date of final show

[justthenumbers]

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=7128367

[WhoDat!]

how can we go on living, now.

[quadraphonic]

I thought they already said Dec. 21, 2012, and John Cusack has that movie out about it?

[justthenumbers]

Discovery Health's switch to OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) has already been pushed back at least once...with this announcement, I could definitely see it delayed until after Oprah's show has wrapped up.

[DToTheJ]

This will be just like Howard Stern leaving terrestrial radio for satellite... Only difference is, there are far more cable subscribers than SiriusXM subscribers, though availability of the Discovery/OWN network varies...

[JayR]

This will be just like Howard Stern leaving terrestrial radio for satellite... Only difference is, there are far more cable subscribers than SiriusXM subscribers, though availability of the Discovery/OWN network varies...

Are you saying that Oprah will just simply start fresh on her cable network?

[Lkeller]

This will be just like Howard Stern leaving terrestrial radio for satellite... Only difference is, there are far more cable subscribers than SiriusXM subscribers, though availability of the Discovery/OWN network varies...

Are you saying that Oprah will just simply start fresh on her cable network?

Not necessarily, though it's not clear yet whether or not she'll host a talk show on OWN.  NPR did a segment on Oprah this morning.  But her influence on OWN's other programming will be considerable.  For example, they will produce a show about very special people (sounds kind of like CNN's "Heroes" segments).  The difference is - those people will be hand-picked by Oprah.

[jal41]

Affiliates are now reacting. The GM of WSB-TV/Atlanta (which has aired Oprah in the 4 PM slot since 1987) comments:

http://blogs.ajc.com/radio-tv-talk/2009/11/20/wsb-tvs-reaction-to-oprahs-pending-departure/

WSB-TV is so dominent (60% total news viewership from the last numbers I saw) that they won't be hurt at all with the loss of Oprah. That might not be the case in markets where the news outlets are neck-and-neck.

[JayR]

From the Associated Press:

Oprah's departure presents problem for TV stations

For the hundreds of network affiliates who depended on Winfrey to deliver millions of viewers every day, Friday's announcement starts an 18-month clock to find a way to fill the space left behind after the end of the most successful daytime talk show in television history.

Are affiliates really going to be scrambling for programming once Oprah is gone? I don't think so...

It won't surprise me if many of the Oprah affiliates with news departments just simply add more news.

Discovery Health's switch to OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) has already been pushed back at least once...with this announcement, I could definitely see it delayed until after Oprah's show has wrapped up.

According to the article...

Discovery is pouring resources into OWN to prepare for its January 2011 launch.

They're looking to launch before her show goes off the air.

[johnnyu]

I have never seen Oprah and I never will.  Please don't tell me that I am missing something?