CHICAGO — Holding back tears, Oprah Winfrey told her studio audience Friday that she would end her show in 2011 after a quarter-century on the air, saying prayer and careful thought led her to her decision.
Winfrey told the audience that she loved “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” that it had been her life and that she knew when it was time to say goodbye.
“Twenty-five years feels right in my bones and feels right in my spirit,” she said.
Winfrey talked about being nervous when the program began in 1986 and thanked audiences who had invited her into their homes and lives over the past two decades.
“I certainly never could have imagined the yellow brick road of blessings that have led me to this moment,” she said.
The powerhouse show became the foundation for her multibillion-dollar media empire but saw its ratings slip 7 percent last season before rebounding in the past couple of months.
Winfrey, 55, is widely expected to start up a new talk show on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a much-delayed 50-50 joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc. that is projected to debut in January 2011.
OWN is to replace the Discovery Health Channel and will debut in about 80 million homes.
Winfrey offered no specifics about her plans for the future, except to say that she intended to produce the best possible shows during her last 18 months on the air.
“Over this holiday break, my team and I will be brainstorming new ways that we can entertain you and inform you and uplift you when we return here in January,” she said.
“And then, season 25 — we are going to knock your socks off.”
Memorable Oprah moments
Liberace interview: Winfrey gets the final TV interview with pianist-showman Liberace, six weeks before his AIDS- related death, 1986.
Weight loss: Wearing slim-fitting, size 10 Calvin Klein jeans, Winfrey wheels a wagon loaded with fat onto the show’s set to represent her 67-pound weight loss, 1988. She later called the show her “biggest, fattest” mistake.
Jackson interview: Michael Jackson gives his first TV interview in more than a decade and discusses his changing looks on a highly rated prime-time special, 1993.
Book club: Oprah’s Book Club is introduced, giving a single- handed jolt to the publishing industry and vaulting her choices to the best-seller list and instant fame, 1996.
Cruise jump: Tom Cruise offers a madcap couch-jumping demonstration of affection for Katie Holmes, 2005.
