Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) is kind of a ratings disappointment; ‘kind of’ is a rather kind way of putting it. It appears that at least one thing Ms. Winfrey has touched has not (thus far) turned to gold. 

Basically, the numbers are bleak, the financials are ugly and if there is a turnaround coming, it had better come soon. The link below gives all the gory details. 

On the bright side (for the network and not for the music world), Oprah scored a bit of coup a few weeks ago in being the first to sit down with the relatives of Whitney Houston. It is actually the first time I recall hearing the network being mentioned on other media outlets. OWN was briefly the hot network, rather than the place where old episodes of Dr. Phil go to die. 

Frankly, I need to tune in more to get a sense of the programming line-up. To me it appears like a cross between Lifetime, Bravo and TLC. It has potential and we all know Oprah doesn’t like to fail! There is original programming in primetime: The Rosie Show (which was recently cancelled), Oprah’s Next Chapter, Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s, Unfaithful: Stories of Betrayal and more. But, there is so much competition in primetime and Rosie O’Donnell drives me bananas and apparently drives Oprah bananas too.

Call me crazy (and you would not be the first to do so), but I think Ms. Winfrey jumped the gun on filling a whole network, when her strength is to micromanage one show and do so really well. 

Oprah’s Next Chapter is really where Winfrey shines. In sit-downs with big shots from all walks of life, she asks the questions we would ask if only we could pull up a chair next to Bobbi Kristina Houston or Joel Osteen. She finds out, with all the delicate finesse at her command, what these people are really like. Darn, she is good. 

For that reason alone, I’m not ready to say OWN is a bust. 

Until Next Time…

Source — OWN: A Scorecard