Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/News
NewsTV

OWN Is Finally On A Profitable Path…

Posted byBy Stan Castle | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Oprah Winfrey’s OWN television network is on track to make bank?

According to Discovery CEO David Zaslav, the recent ad renewals and ratings gains has put Winfrey’s channel on track to end its losses next year.

OWN cable network is a joint venture between Oprah Winfrey and Discovery Communications. Since the start of the company on January 1, 2011, the project reportedly lost a few hundred-million dollars. During the cable network group’s earnings conference call on Tuesday, Zaslav mentioned that OWN is making an upward turn. “Candidly we’re significantly ahead of where we thought we would be,” Zaslav said. “We’re quite confident that we’ve begun to find the recipe for a strong women’s network. That is starting to be what Oprah and I talked about.” He continued by calling OWN “one of the best brands in media, and for women it may be the best brand in media.”

The channel’s programming includes a mix of original programs, strips, specials, original documentaries and acquired movies. It transmits broadcasts in both standard-definition resolution (480i) and high-definition resolution (1080i). AT&T, Dish Network, Cablevision and Bright House Networks carry the channel in HD in all their markets, with Charter Communications, Cox and Time Warner Cable carrying the HD feed of the channel only in some of their markets(Wiki).

More details on Oprah’s OWN progress coming soon…

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top