Transcripts

Oprah Changes Channels

SUSIE GHARIB: Oprah Winfrey made it official today. The multi-millionaire media mogul will leave her trail-blazing talk show in 18 months. She will devote her time to creating a new cable channel. It's a move that says as much about the television industry as it does about Winfrey herself. Scott Gurvey reports.

OPRAH WINFREY: Our viewers have enriched my life beyond all measure.

SCOTT GURVEY, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: It will have been a great run, 25 years, when the syndicated Oprah Winfrey show fades to black in 2011. Winfrey's ratings have fallen along with the rest of broadcast television. Morningstar's Michael Corty says her decision to move to cable makes sense in light of the rapidly evolving business of television.

MICHAEL CORTY, ANALYST, MORNINGSTAR: It's a great step for Oprah to kind of expand her brand beyond her show. In terms of the effect on the local television market, we think audience has been shifting from local broadcast stations to the cable networks for some time and this is just one more step in that process where the programs, we expect audience to continue to shift over to cable networks.

GURVEY: In truth, the loss of the Winfrey show will not have a huge impact on broadcasting's bottom line. Revenue for syndicator CBS amounts to just $50 million a year. Many of ABC's biggest stations air the program, but it costs local stations so much to buy, it is a loss leader for most. It is unclear if the loss of Winfrey's program will hurt the ratings of the local news programs which often follow it. What is clear is that Winfrey will now be able to focus on OWN, the Oprah Winfrey network. It's a joint venture between her Chicago based Harpo, Inc. and Discovery Communications. Harpo also produces the Dr. Oz Show, Dr. Phil and Rachel Ray. It also has radio, magazine, film and Broadway productions. Revenue for the privately held company is reported to be about $350 million. Forbes estimates Winfrey's net worth at $2.7 billion. Brand expert Lorraine Shanley says the Oprah brand is solid, even without the daily talk show.

LORRAINE SHANLEY, OWNER, MARKET PARTNERS INTERNATIONAL: She's making moves, sort of deciding what exactly the next step is, how she wants to use her enormous power. So she'll still have it, but she'll use it in ways that she considers most beneficial and good for her.

GURVEY: This will be Winfrey's second cable start-up. She co-founded the Oxygen channel, which she and her partners sold to NBC Universal in 2008. Scott Gurvey, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, New York.