No decision yet on Oprah Winfrey move to cable
Reuters




T.V. host Winfrey introduces U.S. first lady Obama during a dinner in support of Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics in Copenhagen Reuters – T.V. host Oprah Winfrey introduces U.S. first lady Michelle Obama in Copenhagen September 30, 2009. REUTERS/Charles …



LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Oprah Winfrey has not yet made a decision on a possible move of her syndicated chat show -- one of the TV industry's biggest money makers -- to her new cable network OWN, her production company said on Thursday.

Responding to a report that "The Oprah Winfrey Show" would move from network television to OWN in mid-2011, Winfrey's production company Harpo Inc. said Winfrey would make an announcement by the end of the year.

"She has not made a decision yet. As she has previously stated, she'll be making an announcement before the end of the year," Harpo spokesman Don Halcombe said.

OWN declined to comment.

Winfrey is regarded as one of the most influential women in the United States and powerful women in entertainment. "The Oprah Winfrey Show" is a top-rated U.S. daytime talk show.

Hollywood entertainment blogger Nikki Finke wrote in a report on Thursday that Winfrey would end the Chicago-based talk show when her current syndication deal runs out and move it to Los Angeles-based OWN as soon as mid 2011.

The move would hit CBS Corp's CBS Television Distribution arm, which syndicates the show, and Walt Disney Co's ABC's owned and operated TV stations which broadcast the popular daytime program.

ABC executives had no comment on the report. CBS did not immediately return calls for comment.

The launch of the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), a joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc, has already been delayed from its original 2009 start date. OWN will be available in more than 70 million homes.

But in an announcement on Wednesday seen as a sign of progress, OWN announced the appointment of Harpo Productions veteran Lisa Erspamer as Chief Creative Officer of OWN. Erspamer will take up her post in January 2010.