13 WTHR - Indianapolis News |Oprah to end show in 2011

Oprah to end show in 2011

Cat Andersen/Eyewitness News

Chicago - Holding back tears, Oprah Winfrey told her studio audience Friday that she would end her show in 2011 after a quarter-century on the air, saying prayer and careful thought led her to her decision.

"I love this show. This show has been my life and I love it enough to know when it's time to say goodbye," she said.

Oprah broke the news to her live audience as expected Friday. Her show will end September 9th, 2011, 25 years to the day that it first aired nationally. Oprah's new cable network, OWN, will debut in January 2011.

"25 years feel right in my bones and it feels right in my spirit," Oprah said.

Once a local Chicago morning program, the production evolved into television's top-rated talk show for more than two decades, airing in 145 countries worldwide and watched by an estimated 42 million viewers a week in the U.S. alone.

"I'll definitely miss Oprah," said one fan.

Another woman said she was "very surprised."

"For some of you long-time Oprah viewers, you have literally grown up with me," Oprah told her audience. In Indianapolis, one woman said, "I grew up with Oprah. I've seen fat Oprah, skinny Oprah, fat Oprah and medium sized Oprah, and learned it's okay to be a heavier person and still be on TV. She hasn't let anything stop her."

"I like the charity work she does," said another viewer. "And giving viewers vehicles."

One of Oprah's most famous episodes was in 2004 when she gave away 276 Pontiac G6 cars to her audience. Some Hoosiers were among the recipients, who were nominated by friends and family. The stunt became a classic show moment as much for Winfrey's reaction - "You get a car! You get a car! You get a car! Everybody gets a car!" - as its $7 million price tag.

"It's amazing the things she does for people," said another fan.

She's also helped launch book sales, skin care lines and countless other products.

"That skin care line was represented on Oprah Winfrey and it just took off. It had its status symbol from there of approval. It's almost like being approved by the FDA," commented a fan.

But when much is given, much is expected in return. WABC in New York is paying $270,000 a week for Oprah's shows. WLS in Chicago is paying $225,000 a week.

"Oprah, by far, is one of the most successful and expensive syndicated programs in the country, so there is some cost savings there," said Jim Tellus, WTHR general manager. He says unlike many stations around the country, Channel 13 is in a good position to fill that coveted 4:00 to 5:00 pm time slot.

"Channel 13 has a lock on all the great syndicated programs out there from Ellen to Dr.Oz to Dr. Phil; Wheel and Jeopardy - not many stations have all those good programs. Oprah was part of our strong line up and the good news is we continue to have a strong lineup," he said.

More from the Associated Press:

The powerhouse show became the foundation for her multibillion-dollar media empire, but in the last year, has seen its ratings slip 7 percent. Winfrey, 55, is widely expected to start up a new talk show on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a much-delayed 50-50 joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc. that is projected to debut in January 2011. OWN is to replace the Discovery Health Channel and will debut in some 80 million homes.

Winfrey's 24th season opened this year with a bang, as she drew more than 20,000 fans to Chicago's Magnificent Mile for a block party with the Black Eyed Peas. She followed with a series of blockbuster interviews - Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, Whitney Houston and ESPN's Erin Andrews, and just this week, former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

As a newcomer, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" chipped away at talk-show king Phil Donahue's dominance. Later, it turned to inspiration. The show's coverage ranged from interviews with the world's celebrities to an honest discussion about Winfrey's weight struggles.

In 1986, pianist-showman Liberace gave his final TV interview to Winfrey, just six weeks before he died. In a 1993 prime-time special, Michael Jackson revealed he suffered from a skin condition that produces depigmentation. Tom Cruise enthusiastically declared his affection for the much-younger Katie Holmes on the program in 2005 - and jumped on the couch to prove it.

The show also became a launching pad for Oprah's Book Club, which then launched best-sellers. The titles ranged from "Song of Solomon" and "Paradise" by Toni Morrison to Wally Lamb's "She's Come Undone" and Elie Wiesel's "Night."

For others, the selection backfired. "A Million Little Pieces" exploded in sales after Winfrey chose the James Frey memoir in fall 2005. Soon after, it was revealed as a fabricated tale of addiction and recovery, and Winfrey later chewed out Frey on her show.

The loss of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" would be a blow to CBS Corp., which earns a percentage of hefty licensing fees from TV stations that use it - largely ABC affiliates. CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves told analysts two weeks ago that the contract with the show runs through most of 2011 and "if there's a negative impact, it wouldn't hit us until '12."

"Oprah's been a force of media and there's really no person you can look to out there who you could say, `That's the heir apparent,'" said Larry Gerbrandt, an analyst for Media Valuation Partners in Los Angeles. Gerbrandt noted many stations build their schedules around Winfrey's show.

"It's a big loss, but not as huge as it would have been 10 years ago," he said. "However, it still commands the biggest audience and ABC station competitors are licking their chops."

Talk of the show's end often has accompanied Winfrey's contract negotiations. Before signing her current contract in 2004, she talked about quitting after the 2005-2006 season. As far back as 1995, she called continuing "a difficult and important decision."

Winfrey started her broadcasting career in Nashville, Tenn., and Baltimore, Md., before relocating to Chicago in 1984 to host WLS-TV's morning talk show "A.M. Chicago" - which became "The Oprah Winfrey Show" one year later. She set up Harpo the following year and her talk show went into syndication.

Winfrey built a media empire powered by the show's success. Harpo Studios produces shows hosted by Dr. Phil McGraw and celebrity chef Rachael Ray. O, The Oprah Magazine was the nation's 7th most popular magazine in the first half of 2009.

Earlier this year, Forbes scored Winfrey's net worth at $2.7 billion.

In daytime, her show is head and shoulders above all other talk shows, with 6.8 million viewers on average in the last couple months, compared with "Dr. Phil" with 3.8 million, "Ellen" at 2.8 million and "Dr. Oz" with 3.5 million, according to The Nielsen Co.

Even with such a lead, her ratings have been falling over the years, with an average audience cut in half from 12.6 million in 1991-92 to 6.2 million in 2008-2009.

That decline in audience numbers argued for a move to cable where audiences are increasingly finding niche programming.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.