Inside these posts: OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network

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Oprah’s OWN network picks up 6 new shows

(Frederick M. Brown/Getty)

Broadway dancers, crime victims, unfaithful spouses and soul-food chefs are coming to OWN:The Oprah Winfrey Network, the network announced during its upfront presentation on Thursday.

Six new unscripted series were added to OWN, though there was no news of the most anticipated OWN series: an Oprah Winfrey show, which is expected to launch in September after her daytime talk show ends. Get the full story>>

Last episode of ‘Oprah’ to be May 25

Winfrey’s Chicago-based Harpo Productions confirmed Friday that the final original episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” will air May 25. Winfrey announced live on the show in November 2009 that she would end its run after 25 years. She since has launched cable’s Oprah Winfrey Network.

Oprah’s OWN struggles to bring in viewers

Oprah Winfrey talks to reporters about OWN in January. (Reuters)

From the New York Times | Oprah Winfrey’s 2-month-old cable channel, OWN, is attracting fewer viewers than the obscure channel it replaced, Discovery Health. At any given time this month, there have been about 135,000 people watching OWN, according to Nielsen, and only about 45,000 of those people are women ages 25 to 54, the demographic that the channel is focusing on.

Winfrey and her partner, Discovery Communications, have preached patience, especially because she will have a minimal presence on the channel until after “The Oprah Winfrey Show” ends its remarkable run in September. Get the full story >>

Oprah’s cable channel expected to profit in 1st year

Discovery Communications expects Oprah Winfrey’s cable channel to achieve profitability in its first year.

Discovery and Winfrey flipped the switch on OWN, short for the Oprah Winfrey Network, on New Year’s Day. The new channel enjoyed heavy sampling among viewers over the weekend, although executives have cautioned that they expect a bumpy ratings ride in the beginning. Get the full story »

Oprah Winfrey’s OWN gets strong ratings in launch

OWN, the new cable network from Oprah Winfrey, got off to an impressive start over the weekend.

For its Saturday premiere, OWN was the No. 3 cable network among women age 25 to 54 during the 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. hours, behind only ESPN and USA.

Oprah’s network announces 10 host contestants

Oprah Winfrey’s new network has announced the 10 contestants competing on “Your OWN Show: Oprah’s Search for the Next TV Star.”

The would-be hosts include a travel guide who’s in a wheelchair, a comedian who thinks the U.S. needs a gay best friend, and a businesswoman aiming to make a show about money both informative and fun.

Media blitz preps viewers for Winfrey’s channel

The Oprah Winfrey Network launching Saturday is wary of promising too much of a good thing — Winfrey herself. In stoking interest in the cable channel, the goal is to exploit Winfrey’s popularity while emphasizing that OWN won’t be all Oprah, all the time.

“We really don’t want to be a niche brand. We want to be a mainstream cable” network with appeal beyond Winfrey’s fan base, said Darren Schillace, vice president of consumer marketing for OWN. Get the full story »

Oprah Winfrey prepares for launch of OWN network

American talk show host Oprah Winfrey, third from right, is joined by Australian stars, from left, Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, Hugh Jackman, Olivia Newton John and Russell Crowe in Sydney Tuesday. (AP/ Jeremy Piper)

The long-awaited OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network is gearing up for its premiere on New Year’s Day. And the bold ambition of this venture would spark doubts if there were anybody else’s name attached. Consider: a cable network repurposed from Discovery Health and all-dependent on just one person’s identity, vision and marquee power.

But that person is Winfrey, a cultural force. Now, as she moves through the final months of her daytime syndicated talk show, which will end next September after 25 years, OWN is poised to become Winfrey’s new TV home base.

Instead of a daily hour boasting Winfrey’s on-air presence as host, OWN will be a round-the-clock environment in which — her network vows — she will often be seen but, what is more important, always be felt. She will be the network’s spiritual curator, maintaining a constant presence, even from off-camera, as she offers a slate of programs all guaranteed to meet her “Live Your Best Life” mandate. Get the full story »

Oprah’s new network searches for subscriber fees

The Oprah Winfrey cable network, set to launch in a few weeks, is still trying to line-up subscriber fees from cable and satellite operators, David Zaslav, chief executive of the network’s part-owner Discovery Communications Inc., said Monday.

The new network — which is a 50-50 joint venture between Discovery and Winfrey, is set to replace Discovery Health network in about 80 million homes on Jan 1. Discovery Health, which is not widely watched, receives no per-household subscription fee in the “majority of cases,” said Zaslav during remarks at the UBS Global Media and Communications conference in Manhattan. Get the full story »

Oprah picks Dickens novels for Book Club

Talk queen Oprah Winfrey will announce her latest book selection on her show today, and her choice, according to the Orlando Sentinel, is actually two books: “A Tale of Two Cities” and “Great Expectations” by Charles Dickens.

In September, Winfrey chose Jonathan Franzen’s book “Freedom” as the first selection for the 25th and final season of her talk show. She announced that month that despite rumors, her famed book club would continue. “I will have book selections coming all season long and when I move over to OWN, my new network, the book club is coming with me,” she told her audience.

Get the full story »

No new shows slated for Oprah’s Chicago studios

From Crain’s Chicago Business | After “The Oprah Winfrey Show” finishes taping its last season in May, the two studios at Winfrey’s Chicago-based Harpo Inc. may simply go dark while programs for her new OWN cable network are being filmed in Los Angeles and New York.

Currently, executives say behind-the-scenes production work will keep Harpo’s 400 Chicago-based workers busy and have hinted that a new program may eventually take place in Chicago. But early contenders, shows featuring Dr. Oz and designer Nate Berkus, are being filmed in New York. Get the full story>>

Oprah to announce next Book Club pick Monday

(Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Oprah Winfrey plans another pick for her popular book club.

Harpo Productions said Tuesday that current Oprah’s Book Club author Jonathan Franzen will appear on Monday’s episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Winfrey chose Franzen’s latest book “Freedom” in September as the first selection for the 25th and final season of her talk show.

On that same episode, Winfrey will announce her next book club pick. The new selection comes about 11 weeks after Winfrey chose “Freedom.” Since 2008, she has averaged one or two selections a year. Winfrey’s book club choices have vaulted to the best-seller list and given authors instant fame. Get the full story »

Final season of ‘Oprah’ begins today

The 25th and final season of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” starts airing Monday. And Winfrey has already hinted she’s going out in style. In recently released video of the season’s first episode, the TV talk show host and actor John Travolta dance hand-in-hand through her stage doors to “Love Train” by the O’Jays. Get the full story »

‘Oprah’ final season to include Book Club pick

The first week of the final season of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” will include a selection for Oprah’s Book Club.

A Harpo spokeswoman said Thursday that Winfrey will announce her 64th and latest pick during a live episode airing on Sept. 17. That would be 14 years to the day that Winfrey announced her first book club selection — Jacquelyn Mitchard’s “The Deep End of the Ocean” — on Sept. 17, 1996.

Oprah to host show on her new network

Oprah Winfrey has agreed to boost her on-air commitment to The Oprah Winfrey Network by hosting or starring in a show on the network, according to a Securities and Exchange filing made by Discovery Communications Inc. on Friday.

As part of the amended joint-venture agreement, Discovery agreed to increase by 89 percent, to $189 million, its funding commitment to Winfrey’s OWN network. Get the full story »