Standing back from situations, gives you the perfect view.
In a surprise announcement, Discovery Inc. revealed that it now has a 95% majority stake in the Oprah Winfrey Network, better known as OWN. The media conglomerate made a deal with billionaire Oprah Winfrey to acquire 70% of the company in exchange for $36 million in stock.
This is not the first time Winfrey has accepted a windfall of money for OWN. Back in 2017, the Weight Watchers spokesperson and part owner strategically sold a 25% stake of OWN to Discovery for $70 million. Winfrey, who established a career as the ultimate talk show host and interviewer, will maintain her role as CEO, along with contributing to the creative direction of the network.
The latest development comes as Discovery transitions to launching the new streaming platform Discovery Plus — a move that has been coerced by the hand of the pandemic, innovative technological advances, and an evolving competitive landscape that sees media giants such as Netflix, Disney, Amazon, Apple, and even major film studios adjusting to new consumer tastes.
At one point the network was struggling to maintain viewership after its 2011 launch. OWN targets African-American females between the ages of 25-54. In order to transform the network, Winfrey signed multi-talent Tyler Perry to an exclusive multi-year deal in 2012 that would revive the network with series such as, Tyler Perry’s For Better Or Worse, The Haves And The Have Nots, If Loving You Is Wrong and Love Thy Neighbor.
In 2017, OWN would lose its golden hen to struggling media entity ViacomCBS where Perry would strike a nearly five-year partnership with the Shari Redstone ran company. The deal, started May 2019 and expiring 2024, requires Perry to produce 90 episodes per year for BET Networks and implements a first-look film deal with Viacom’s Paramount Pictures. Perry’s exit from OWN crippled the ratings of the network, despite the success of Oprah’s Master Class, Craig Wright’s Greenleaf and Ava DuVernay’s Queen Sugar.
OWN content will be available on the streaming service, which launches in early 2021.
