Layoffs Are Latest Blow to Oprah’s Cable Empire: The Oprah Winfrey Network’s struggles show how difficult is for big media personalities to prosper in a new medium
Layoffs Are Latest Blow to Oprah’s Cable Empire: The Oprah Winfrey Network’s struggles show how difficult is for big media personalities to prosper in a new medium
Every aspect of the set, band and The like has been shrunk down. It’s a pretty interesting concept, especially since everyone looks like a GIANT!
“Cougar Town” may get another season but it probably won’t be on ABC.
TBS is reportedly pursuing a deal to pick up the third-year comedy if ABC should cancel it, which seems likely. The show has slumped to series-low ratings this spring after being held off the schedule until midseason. The potential arrangement echoes a deal done by TNT a few years back, when it picked up NBC’s canceled “Southland.” Deadline.com reports that TBS would agree to air two more seasons of “Cougar,” which follows the antics of a group of wine-swilling fortysomethings.
OWN has lost $330 million
It’s apparently “report on Oprah Winfrey week” at two of the big business publications. Bloomberg Businessweek and The Wall Street Journal both have features on the struggles of the former syndicated talk show host’s new network. The Businessweek story seems less sympathetic. It notes that Discovery Communications, which owns the Oprah Winfrey Network, has poured some $600 million into the project in the past four years, and it’s lost $330 million in that span. One person even refers to OWN as the most “successful failure in television today.”
The Journal, which interviewed Winfrey, seems more willing to believe OWN could succeed in time. While it notes that Procter & Gamble and Kohl’s reportedly cut their advertising commitments after a disappointing first year, it also notes that cable launches take a long time to gain momentum. It quotes one media buyer as saying he’s not ready to bet against Winfrey, who insisted to the paper that she felt “energized” by the challenge of saving her network. Winfrey was named chief executive officer last year.
Today in TV History
Hour Glass, the first hour-long entertainment program of any kind, debuted in 1946. The show was also notable for its November 14, 1946 broadcast. On it, Edgar Bergen brought his ventriloquism act to the show. It was the first time that a major radio performer had appeared on television.
It aired on NBC and departed in March 1947.
