Oprah NEEDS Her OWN Cable Network

Not that it is a complete surprise, but Oprah Winfrey will now have her own cable network.

The Discovery Health Network will become OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. This will be a joint venture between Discovery and Oprah’s Harpo Productions with Oprah as the chairman with editorial control even if she doesn’t run the day to day business of the network.

Basically that means it will still be all about Oprah. Its hard not to think of Oprah as an egomaniac, but as Discovery Communications Chief Executive David Zaslav said, “There’s no stronger brand in media than the Oprah brand.”

Then again, I look at O Magazine and wonder why every cover has to have Oprah’s face on it. I can’t deny that Oprah has a strong vision and helps many people have better lives, but if her vision requires a big serving of Oprah every time I can only imagine what her network will be like.

According to Ms. Oprah Winfrey, “This network isn’t just about me. It’s using the voice and the brand and the vision, but it really is about creating possibilities for any number of people … to extend the vision in a way that obviously I cannot 24 hours a day.”

Sure it is Oprah! I can’t wait until your syndication deal ends so you can run episode after episode of your show on your network. I will grab one of your magazines and numb out in front of the tv. I can’t wait for that day Oprah, I honestly just can’t wait.