Oprah to End Her Talk Show in 2011

"The Oprah Winfrey Show," an iconic broadcast that grew from a local Chicago talk show into the foundation of a multibillion dollar media empire, will end its run in 2011 after 25 seasons on the air, Winfrey's production company said Thursday night. Winfrey, who became one of the most powerful women in entertainment from a seat on the couch of her set in Chicago's West Loop neighborhood, plans to announce the final date for her show during a live broadcast on Friday, Harpo Productions Inc. said. A Harpo spokeswoman declined to comment Thursday on Winfrey's future plans except to say that "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will not be transferred to cable television. Winfrey is widely expected to start up a new talk show on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a much-delayed joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc. that is expected to debut in 2011. OWN is to replace the Discovery Health Channel and will debut in some 70 million homes.