Not sure if this story is true or just a rumor...but I know her network is really struggling.

When her network first started,she had reality shows on the Judds and another one on Ryan O' Neal These are people who were "hot" 30 years ago!! Does anyone really wanna see a Ryan O' Neal reality show in 2012?! She also gave Rosie O'Donnell a talk show but not surprisingly,it flopped too.Oprah doesn't understand that these people are no longer interesting to the TV viewing audience.

All lies!!! This is not true....

People of all races are so jealous of Oprah. Whatever the truth is behind this story, she has worked her ass off to get where she is today. She is a positive, hard working woman who stands up for herself and gives so much of herself. She is an icon and will be for a very long time to come. Whatever has happened at OWN, I wish her great success and happiness. She has inspired me from time to time and I thank her for it.

I do not trust the National Enquirer with whatever smut they print. Their mag is full of shite. Taking this story with a grain of salt.

I will only believe it when it comes from legit sources like CNN etc.

SoulAlive said:

When her network first started,she had reality shows on the Judds and another one on Ryan O' Neal These are people who were "hot" 30 years ago!! Does anyone really wanna see a Ryan O' Neal reality show in 2012?! She also gave Rosie O'Donnell a talk show but not surprisingly,it flopped too.Oprah doesn't understand that these people are no longer interesting to the TV viewing audience.

I liked the one with Ryan O'neil . . More than anything, I thought it was very true to her brand, particularly her messages and exploration of relationships and families, and how even if it's wrong you can try to move forward even if things can't magically be set right.

For me, I'm looking for shows that appeal to a person of my generation at being 40+ now. I don't want to rely on VH1 or MTV for my sole source of entertainment, and I'm perfectly happy with shows like Lisa Ling's "Our America", or shows that are less fluffy than the average tv viewing fare. I want the shows on how to determine how healthy you are by your poo, I want to watch middle aged people discover how to progress and transform their lives, and I want news documentaries that shed light on different sub-cultures in American society. I don't look to the Oprah brand to see who the hottest "in" people are in Hollywood; I want to watch master classes on life lessons by luminaries like Sir Sydney Poitier or Jane Fonda. When I want to watch something shallow, there are dozens of networks to choose from on American tv, when I turn on own, I'm expecting mature programming dealin with people of a certain age and season of life.

In any case, it's a known statistic that most start-up networks suffer in their first 3-5 years, and subjectively speaking, should pretty much expect to bomb during that period. Oprah's just going to have to hunker down, bite the bullet, and stay committed until she can find her voice, her footing, an connects with an audience. She's done exceptionally well in her lifetime thus far, and a little failure is okay for a person and won't kill her; if you have any sense it humbles the spirit and brings you clarity of purpose, form , and function. I understand what she's trying to do with her network and am glad she's doing it.

Oprah tried to avoid going into the trashy reality show direction on her network. Not saying its trashy(Because I like it)But "Sweetie Pies" ended up being her top rated show on the network. Go figure!

KCOOLMUZIQ said:

Oprah tried to avoid going into the trashy reality show direction on her network. Not saying its trashy(Because I like it)But "Sweetie Pies" ended up being her top rated show on the network. Go figure!

Reality shows are an intrinsic part of the televison landscape now, and just given the effect they can have on a network's bottom line, I think it's safe to say that they won't be going anywhere anytime soon, the question is whether or not there's going to be a shift in content because the televsion audience at large will simply grown either outraged or totally indifferent to the trash their currently witnessing.

I think you can have reality shows that are not trashy at all. On the reality thread we often poke fun at the more ridiculous shows targeting female audiences, but in addition to shows like Sweetie Pie's, I'm an avid supporter of shows like Mary Mary , and Tia & Tamera. Those shows are very clean, very tame, and I throw my public support behind them in any way I can.

This story is not true. Just a silly rumor.

Two words: National Enquirer

And I'm not even a fan of Ms. Sophia but let's keep it real. You have to get a million Madeas to get her off her position. Fuck outta here.

i hope this isn't true. i have a huge respect for oprah

The only sources I heard this news from are the National Enquirer and the Christian Post, which isn't exactly non-biased. Having said that, OWN has been struggling along with a ton of second and third tier cable channels (Current TV anyone?). I personally could do without all of those religious and shopping channels, and I've noticed a lot of channels dramatically shifting their programming to run a bunch of reality junk. I remember when Discovery actually aired a lot of programming relating to science, nature, and technology, but now they have shows like American Chopper, Cash Cab, Deadliest Catch and Auction Kings, and the History Channel now peddles shows like Pawn Stars and Ice Rood Truckers , which have nothing to do with history. And I even remember when TLC actually stood for the Learning Channel and wasn't the bastion of white trash TV it is today with prepubescent beauty queens, coupon crazies, and that wacked out family with 19 kids.

[Edited 6/6/12 16:51pm]

N.E. gets a whole lot of stuff wrong but every so often they are on the money.

I think the only thing they have right about there story is, OWN sinking. I still contend station location and not figuring her who and what audience she should target hurt Ms. Winfrey's network. The Reality TV crap needs to go away; most adults don't want to see that mess. At the same token original programming is costly, Winfrey between a rock and a hard place. (IMHO) Besides who watches TV any more?

TD3 said:

N.E. gets a whole lot of stuff wrong but every so often they are on the money.

I think the only thing they have right about there story is, OWN sinking. I still contend station location and not figuring her who and what audience she should target hurt Ms. Winfrey's network. The Reality TV crap needs to go away; most adults don't want to see that mess. At the same token original programming is costly, Winfrey between a rock and a hard place. (IMHO) Besides who watches TV any more?

or..if she truly must have reality shows,at least find people who are interesting.Ryan O'Neal?? The Judds?? Come on,now!

SoulAlive said:

Remember a few years ago when ABC cancelled the daytime soaps "All My Children" and "One Life To Live"? Oprah should have seized that opportunity and saved those shows.Daytime soap fans would have flocked to her network,and might have stuck around for the shows that came on after.

SoulAlive said:

Remember a few years ago when ABC cancelled the daytime soaps "All My Children" and "One Life To Live"? Oprah should have seized that opportunity and saved those shows.Daytime soap fans would have flocked to her network,and might have stuck around for the shows that came on after.

That's an option that may have worked. Her network is in a tailspin, I'm not sure she'll be albe to right it. I think Winfrey even admitted that she may have bitten off more than she could chew...

TD3 said:

SoulAlive said:

Remember a few years ago when ABC cancelled the daytime soaps "All My Children" and "One Life To Live"? Oprah should have seized that opportunity and saved those shows.Daytime soap fans would have flocked to her network,and might have stuck around for the shows that came on after.

That's an option that may have worked. Her network is in a tailspin, I'm not sure she'll be albe to right it. I think Winfrey even admitted that she may have bitten off more than she could chew...

It's kinda sad. All that money and she could've saved a whole network (ABC) instead of starting her own.

TD3 said:

SoulAlive said:

Remember a few years ago when ABC cancelled the daytime soaps "All My Children" and "One Life To Live"? Oprah should have seized that opportunity and saved those shows.Daytime soap fans would have flocked to her network,and might have stuck around for the shows that came on after.

That's an option that may have worked. Her network is in a tailspin, I'm not sure she'll be albe to right it. I think Winfrey even admitted that she may have bitten off more than she could chew...

To own and operate a successful network is such a massive undertaking, I think she understands now that this is going to be a battle and successs will not come easily.

One hand hand I can see how going the soap route, and saving those iconic shows could have been an audience magnet...but then the costs of running a scripted production- employing all those SAG actors, writers, creative and technical crew? Then the logistics of filming New York shows with New York based workers at New York production prices; considering Oprah produces everything via her Chicago headquarters, on the other side of the coin an undertaking like this would be very complicated economically, and could be more financially draining than expected.

Timmy84 said:

TD3 said:

That's an option that may have worked. Her network is in a tailspin, I'm not sure she'll be albe to right it. I think Winfrey even admitted that she may have bitten off more than she could chew...

It's kinda sad. All that money and she could've saved a whole network (ABC) instead of starting her own.

I guess for her this would've been the ultimate challenge... it appears she and "her people" didn't think this thing through. She should've done herself a favor and listened to the NPR report years ago about BET and why BET made the chooses they did when it came to programming. Winfrey has some bucks but not enough to build a network on her own.

TD3 said:

Timmy84 said:

It's kinda sad. All that money and she could've saved a whole network (ABC) instead of starting her own.

I guess for her this would've been the ultimate challenge... it appears she and "her people" didn't think this thing through. She should've done herself a favor and listened to the NPR report years ago about BET and why BET made the chooses they did when it came to programming. Winfrey has some bucks but not enough to build a network on her own.

True. I guess this was one thing she couldn't get right. Well that and her film company lol

I admire her ethic but she always seem to go on instinct rather than a thought process.

Timmy84 said:

TD3 said:

I guess for her this would've been the ultimate challenge... it appears she and "her people" didn't think this thing through. She should've done herself a favor and listened to the NPR report years ago about BET and why BET made the chooses they did when it came to programming. Winfrey has some bucks but not enough to build a network on her own.

True. I guess this was one thing she couldn't get right. Well that and her film company lol

I admire her ethic but she always seem to go on instinct rather than a thought process.

I think Winfrey has always overestimated what her brand could do and would support and what it couldn't do and wouldn't support. Her demographics weren't going to support the TV series or the type of movies I think she wanted to make. NEVER.

TD3 said:

Timmy84 said:

True. I guess this was one thing she couldn't get right. Well that and her film company lol

I admire her ethic but she always seem to go on instinct rather than a thought process.

I think Winfrey has always overestimated what her brand could do and would support and what it couldn't do and wouldn't support. Her demographics weren't going to support the TV series or the type of movies I think she wanted to make. NEVER.

So true.