Oprah Winfrey will start a cable-television channel with Discovery Communications, adding to a resume that already includes top-rated talk-show host, producer and magazine publisher.
The Oprah Winfrey Network, or OWN, debuts in 2009 on what is currently the Discovery Health Channel. The 50-50 joint venture is cashless, the company said.
The plan extends effort by Discovery chief executive David Zaslav, pictured with Oprah, to remake the cable network, which includes “Animal Planet” and TLC.
OWN represents the “evolution” of Winfrey’s lifestyle empire that also includes her magazine, O.
“Oprah has a great brand,” said David Joyce, an analyst at Miller Tabak & Co. in New York. He called the venture “a good repurposing of the Discovery space on cable and satellite TV.”
Discovery Holding, controlled by billionaire John Malone, fell 41 cents to $24.29 on the Nasdaq Stock Market Tuesday. The Class A shares have gained 44 percent in the past year.
Bloomberg News
