Amid Tears, Oprah Winfrey Tells Audience She Will End Popular Show

2 years ago

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Oprah Winfrey tearfully told her audience Friday morning that she is shutting down her popular talk show on Sept. 9, 2011.

"I love this show. This show has been my life. And I love it enough to know when it is time to say goodbye. Twenty-five years feels right in my bones and feels right in my spirit," she announced live at 9 a.m. in Chicago. She did not clarify speculation over whether she would step down to host a new daily talk show on her cable network, OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network.

The current show is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution for broadcast throughout the day on 200 local ABC stations nationwide and in 145 countries.

On Thursday, the show's parent company, Harpo Productions, sent a letter to local affiliates about Winfrey's intention to end the show after its 25^th season.

Reports that Winfrey is pulling the plug in order to launch the new show on her cable network were not addressed Friday.

However, The New York Times reports that Winfrey told her staff that she will not do a show on OWN but will produce new programs and possibly make appearances on them.

Winfrey announced her decision to her staff on Thursday. At the meeting, she said that all employees with three or more years at the company will be given another job at Harpo or a severance package, one employee told MSNBC.

The show is the highest-rated afternoon TV talk show and the cornerstone of Winfrey's billion-dollar empire of TV shows, magazines, movies and radio.

Winfrey endorsed and campaigned for Barack Obama. She has visited President Obama and Michelle Obama in the White House twice earlier this year.

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