Oprah Winfrey’s OWN struggling to pull in viewers
By ANITuesday, March 1, 2011
LONDON - Oprah Winfrey’s TV channel, OWN, is reportedly struggling to pull in the viewers.
According to the New York Times, figures from Nielsen show ratings are down 10 per cent on Discovery Health - the channel OWN has replaced, reports the Daily Mail.
Just 135,000 are viewing Winfrey’s channel at any one time and only 45,000 of these are the target demographic of women aged 25 to 54.
However, the TV host and her partner Discovery Communications have told sceptics to be patient especially because she only has a minimal presence on the channel until The Oprah Winfrey Show - currently on ABC - ends its run in September.
At the moment OWN is relying on shows like ‘Our America’, a series of documentaries hosted by Lisa Ling.
Christina Norman, chief executive of OWN, said the channel is still aiming to accumulate 50 to 60million viewers each month. It currently has 42million.
She said viewers expected a lot of original programming, and aren’t tuning in for repeats.
Winfrey has also reiterated this message. (ANI)
