Oprah Winfrey, the daytime talk show host whose media empire also includes a television production company, radio show, magazine, popular website and other ventures, will soon be getting her own television network.Winfrey and Discovery Communications said on Tuesday that they would jointly create OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network, a cable television channel to make its debut in 2009 on what is now the Discovery Health Channel. Discovery Health is available in more than 70 million homes.The new channel will not initially carry The Oprah Winfrey Show, the top-rated syndicated daytime talk show featuring Winfrey as host. But Winfrey said that she had the option to end that show in 2010 or 2011 and could move the talk show to the new channel then. “Eventually that will happen, we hope,” Winfrey said in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday.The venture will be half owned by Discovery, of Silver Spring and half by Harpo Inc, Winfrey’s production company, which is based in Chicago. Winfrey will serve as chairwoman of the network, will have full editorial control over the joint venture and will be responsible for its “programming, branding and creative vision,” the companies said.
