Goodbye, Oprah

**JakesDTVBlog** · 11-19-2009, 04:01 PM

Well, it's happened. The queen of daytime talk will announce tomorrow that she's turning the lights out on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" at the end of the show's 25th season.

That will be September 9, 2011, and I've got the whole story here.

I reported on Nov. 5 that this was a possibility.

**O-O** · 11-19-2009, 04:20 PM

Wow, 25 years. Seems hard to believe it's been that long already.

**Orrymain** · 11-19-2009, 04:46 PM

But it's still not for 1 1/2 years yet. Think of the publicity she's gonna get between now and then -- just ridiculous.

**JakesDTVBlog** · 11-19-2009, 06:01 PM

It'll be "interesting," and I'll stick with that.

You know, it's funny, but I remember when the show first premiered on 14WFIE here in the Evansville market. They did a promo in which, as best I remember, people at the mall and on the street tried to pronounce her name, mostly without success. It got a lot of attention.

If you tell a kid nowadays that you can remember when folks couldn't say "Oprah Winfrey," they'd look at you like you're crazy.

**Jason Fritz** · 11-19-2009, 09:27 PM

Today's announcement is an incredibly brilliant business move on her part.

**bicker** · 11-20-2009, 02:07 AM

Yes, definitely. While her daily show probably is going to go away (and after 25 years, wouldn't you want a change?), after she benefits form the additional interest her announcement and pending departure will bring her, she can then reinvent herself doing specials, maybe a weekly, etc., essentially just working when she wants to, when it serves her needs, ... What a life!

**tongyun** · 11-20-2009, 02:39 PM

Has it really been 25 years? It feels like it's been much longer than that. It'll be nice to have a change in the afternoon programming.

**Aaron62** · 11-20-2009, 03:51 PM

Jake, great article here: jakesdtvblog.com ... Your Source for Local TV Info!: THE BOTTOM LINE: The Oprah fallout begins

With the clock now counting down the days until the end of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" as we know it, the fallout from Winfrey's decision to jettison her show to concentrate on her planned cable network is beginning.

NATIONALLY, CBS AND ABC STAND TO LOSE BIG

CBS, which syndicates the show, has raked in hundreds of millions of dollars from "Oprah" since acquiring King World (her original syndicator) a decade ago,