Henrick Vartanian
The queen of talk, Oprah Winfrey says when it came to launching, her own cable TV network in 2011, she realized it has been the scariest thing she has ever done.
“I have never felt such fear in all my life…I was afraid of failing…I was afraid it wouldn’t be what ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ has been, and has meant, for all these years,” she told “O” magazine, which she also owns.
“What I realized is that I’ve never been afraid before. Not with any decision I’ve ever made,” Winfrey added.
Winfrey’s new cable channel OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, a joint venture between her company Harpo Inc and Discovery Communications, launches on January 1, after some initial delays. Skewed towards female viewers, and lifestyle oriented, the cable network will be available in 80 million homes on what is currently the Discovery Health Channel.
Dubbed as one of the most influential women in America, Winfrey (56) will end her widely popular Oprah Winfrey Show on ABC in May 2011 after 25 years.
Expected shows on the new network (OWN) are said to be a reality series with Britain’s Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, a daytime talk show by Rosie O’Donnell and a behind-the-scenes look at the final season of “The Oprah Winfrey Show”.