Posted on 08/30/2011 4:44:09 AM PDT by AT7Saluki
Oprah Winfrey, TV’s greatest hit-maker, is counting on Rosie O’Donnell to save her struggling cable network.
OWN -- which launched New Year’s Day to un-Oprah-like ratings -- has already burned through more than $150 million in start-up money without producing a single hit show.
“There is pressure,” says Debra Birnbaum, editor-in-chief of TV Guide magazine, “because clearly this is what OWN is putting all of its emphasis on for the new season.
“They have to figure out a way to get eyeballs to that network.”
Can the stand-up comic -- who will broadcast from Oprah’s old Chicago studio beginning in early October -- do for OWN what, say, “South Park” did for Comedy Central or “Queer Eye”for Bravo?
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/tv/rosie_to_rescue_El4wyCmuBjZwDJR4MmiUgN#ixzz1WVmCKXFy
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
I like some of the things going on @ OWN, but clearly Rosie is not the same draw as the O - and if they think she could be - they’re nuttier than I thought.
It will be interesting to see how O the business woman reinvents herself. Having NEVER watched an Oprah show, I really enjoyed watching the BEHIND THE SCENES series, where they laid out how each show was put together. (I never watched the Obama visit BTS... have a weak stomach right now)
Most interesting was the Bush interviews. This show was triggered by 43’s book coming out, and she read it in prep for the show.
O was SHOCKED that she didn’t know the state/federal linkage (or lack thereof) that caused a lot of the problem with Katrina, and she gave 43 her platform to discuss it.
Well if you only read the MSM POV, you only read one side. She does have a brain, there are just a HUGE amount of filters that I don’t think will ever change.
I wish you would be a little more straightforward, and tell us what you REALLY think.
“Not sh*t!...Energy!”
I’m no fan of Oprah personally, but I’m a fan of any new network providing jobs for my industry.
And this article is simply wrong about the network producing “no hits.” They just haven’t had enough hits. “Behind the scenes” did very well and cost next to nothing to produce. “The Judds” and the “Shania Twain” show also did well.
I don’t get all the animus directed at a struggling start-up when CBS still has a broadcast license after nearly throwing a presidential election with fake memos. THAT’S something to get mad about.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.