The Celebrity Truth

Oprah Winfrey has said she is yet to make a decision regarding the future of her daily television show once her current contract expires in 2011, in light of the fact that she is set to start her own television network, OWN.

Discovery Communications will partner with Winfrey in the OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) cable network next year, and they expect her to stop doing her syndicated show in September 2011.

In a statement released this week, Discovery’s CEO David Zaslav said:

“The expectation is that after that [date], her show will go off of ABC in syndication and she will come to OWN. We’re talking now about what the presence will be and what kind of programming she would be involved in directly. But this is her Chapter 2, and building the OWN brand online and on air is… a core mission for her.”

Zaslav said Winfrey is “very involved with us and focusing on what the channel is going to be, as well as developing Oprah.com.”

However, Lisa Halliday, chief spokesperson for Harpo Productions, Inc, said the talk show queen was undecided about the show’s future.

“While David Zaslav’s comments are true that Oprah’s current contract to produce ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ will expire in 2011, she has not made a final decision as to whether she will continue her show in syndication beyond that,” Halliday said.

CBS Television Distribution, the show’s current syndicator, said it is hopeful that Winfrey will continue her show.

“We are thrilled that ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ will continue production through the 2010–2011 season, its 25th year on the air,” CBS Television Distribution said in a statement.

“We are grateful to Ms. Winfrey, her producers and all of our affiliates who remain committed to bringing viewers this exceptional series. We would certainly welcome and hope that ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ would continue in syndication beyond that, but that is a decision only Ms. Winfrey will be making.”

Photo courtesy of Harpo.