Oprah Winfrey is expected to announce today that she will end her daytime “Oprah Winfrey Show” in 2011 as she prepares to start her own cable network. Winfrey’s Harpo Productions confirmed Thursday that the host will explain her decision to pull the plug on her Chicago-based syndicated show at the end of the 2010-11 season, its 25th on national television. She is to discuss what’s next during her last live show of the calendar year.
In Detroit, the show airs at 4 p.m. weekdays on WXYZ-TV (Channel 7).
Speculation that her departure was near reached new levels in January 2008 after Winfrey announced that she and Discovery Networks planned to partner on a new cable network: OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network.
Marla Drutz, WDIV-TV (Channel 4) vice president and general manager, who was program director at WXYZ for nearly 20 years, said Thursday night that Winfrey’s decision is huge news, not only because of the potentially significant ratings shifts for local networks but also for fans.
“She has changed the landscape of daytime television,” Drutz said. “Stations who have her lead into their 5 p.m. news have a lot to think about. It’s also an incredible opportunity.”
Winfrey started her broadcasting career as a teen in Nashville, Tenn., at WVOL-TV. Today her show is seen in more than 200 U.S. markets.
She also has a wide-ranging media empire. Her Harpo Studios produces shows hosted by Dr. Phil McGraw and celebrity chef Rachael Ray.
Her Oprah’s Book Club produces instant best-sellers, and O, the Oprah Magazine was the nation’s seventh most-popular magazine in the first half of 2009.
Marcie Brogan, chief executive officer of Birmingham advertising and marketing firm Brogan & Partners, said Winfrey “touched people in a variety of ways, including weight and self-esteem issues, politics, abuse … real-life struggles.”
“Her departure from people’s everyday lives will only heighten demand for her next projects,” Brogan said. “People will be looking to fill their Oprah fix.”
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