Oprah Creates Television Network

I am ashamed to admit, but I was surprised to hear that Oprah has decided to create her own television network. Silly me! What should really surprise me is that it has taken this long to happen. That shouldn't surprise me either, because Oprah rarely does anything unless she can do it with excellence. That is the secret of her success.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the talk show queen has been dreaming the idea of a 24/7 TV network for around 20 years. Now she plans on making that dream into a reality. She has said that she has been wanting to share her approach to media and her influence all the time (literally all the time). She didn't want to be limited by a show, or a magazine, or even a continuously updated website. She wanted her fans to turn on the tube and see her media at any time. This will be her way to do just that.

The name of the new channel will be OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network. How appropriate, because if she keeps this up she will own virtually everything.

On the Oprah site, the media leader announced:

In an unprecedented deal, Oprah Winfrey and Discovery Communications announced plans today to create OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. The new multi-platform media venture will be designed to entertain, inform and inspire people to live their best lives. OWN will debut in 2009 in more than 70 million homes, on what is currently the Discovery Health Channel. The venture will also include the award-winning digital platform, Oprah.com.

According to Forbes, Oprah Winfrey is worth over $2.5 billion. She clearly isn't motivated by money alone (note: I don't believe anyone ever makes "enough money," so please don't interpret my remarks as such). I believe Oprah wants to be an agent for change and influence. I believe she wants to continue to add to her legacy. I think she wants to get a TV gig for her best friend, Gayle King. Okay, just kidding, but I'm sure that is going to happen, just as Gayle has largely taken over Oprah's show on satellite radio (Oprah and Friends on XM).

Whatever the reasons, I'm confident that this effort will be as successful as virtually everything else Oprah puts her hands on.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.