| MUMBAI:
Oprah Winfrey has announced on live episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show that she
plans to end her show in September 2011, after being 25 years on air.
The Oprah Show
will end its run as its 25th season draws to a close on 9 September, 2011.
“After much prayer and months of careful thought, I have decided that
next season, Season 25, will be the last season of The Oprah Winfrey Show,”
she announced.
Launched
nationally in 1986, The Oprah Winfrey Show is viewed by an estimated 42 million
viewers each week in the United States. As per the network website, Oprah and
the show have received 48 Daytime Emmy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement
Award in 1998. The show has remained the number one talk show for 23 consecutive
seasons, winning every sweep since its debut in 1986.
Produced by Harpo
Productions, the show is syndicated to 215 domestic stations by CBS Television
Distribution and to 145 countries by CBS Studios International. Winfrey
said, "I love this show. This show has been my life. And I love it enough
to know when it's time to say goodbye. Twenty-five years feels right in my bones,
and it feels right in my spirit. It's the perfect number—the exact right
time. So I hope that you will take this 18-month ride with me right through to
the final show." Winfrey
continued, "So, the countdown to the end of The Oprah Winfrey Show starts
now, and until that day in 2011 when it ends, I intend to soak up every meaningful,
joy-filled moment with you." After
production wraps on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Winfrey plans to appear and participate
in new programming for OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a 24-hour cable network
that reflects her vision, values and interests. The
launch date for OWN, a joint venture with Discovery Communications, is now set
for January 2011.
On
the announcement, Discovery Communications president and CEO David Zaslav said,
“There is no bigger brand in media than Oprah Winfrey. She has changed the
broadcast landscape and how people consume television. Along the way, she impacted
our culture and touched us all. We congratulate her and our friends at Harpo for
their many achievements, and their years of creating truly ground-breaking television." | 
