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Winfrey Network adjusts expectations
After a preview weekend, the Oprah Winfrey Network will settle into its regular daily schedule. Here’s a look:
Daytime (Monday-Friday):
10 a.m.: “The Gayle King Show”: Oprah’s pal brings her radio program to television.
3 p.m.: “Anna & Kristina’s Grocery Bag”: Average cooks tackle the culinary arts.
3:30 p.m.: “Cristina Ferrare’s Big Bowl of Love”: The host opens up her home for this cooking series.
4 p.m.: “Trading Spaces”: Reruns of the home-improvement series.
7 p.m.: “Best of Dr. Phil”: Reruns of the syndicated advice show.
Prime time:
Monday
8 p.m.: “Enough Already with Peter Walsh”: Lessons in how to declutter your home.
10 p.m.: “In the Bedroom with Dr. Laura Berman”: Relationship expert offers sex therapy.
Wednesday
8 p.m.: “Mystery Diagnosis”: A holdover from the Discovery Health channel.
10 p.m.: “Miracle Detectives”: Investigators uncover answers to mysterious incidents.
Friday
8 p.m.: “Season 25: Oprah Behind the Scenes”: A look at the production of the iconic chat fest.
9 p.m.: “Your OWN Show: Oprah’s Search for the Next TV Star”: An “Apprentice”-like competition produced by Mark Burnett.
Sunday Prime time:
8 p.m.: “Ask Oprah’s All-Stars”: A series of advice-giving specials featuring Dr. Phil, Suze Orman and Dr. Oz.
8 p.m.: “Our America with Lisa Ling”: Documentary series examines topical issues. (Begins Jan. 30)
10 p.m.: “Oprah Presents Master Class”: Famous people share their life lessons.
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES
The Oprah Winfrey Network launching Saturday is wary of promising too much of a good thing — Winfrey herself.
In stoking interest in the cable channel, the goal is to exploit Winfrey’s popularity while emphasizing that OWN won’t be all Oprah, all the time.
“We really don’t want to be a niche brand. We want to be a mainstream cable” network with appeal beyond Winfrey’s fan base, said Darren Schillace, vice president of consumer marketing for OWN.
“Phase one” of the marketing effort aims to “manage expectations that it’s not 24/7 Oprah on the network,” Schillace said, with Winfrey committed to appearing in at least 70 hours of programming in 2011.
Helping viewers find OWN on the nation’s various and crowded cable systems is another key goal in spreading the word about the joint venture between Winfrey’s Harpo Inc. and Discovery Communications.
The effort to position OWN as Oprah-plus doesn’t mean barring Winfrey, or her famous pals, from the premiere hoopla. And it hasn’t led to understated promos for the reportedly $189 million gamble by Discovery.
“Watch our stunning and heart-pounding new video featuring so many stars and so much energy that it will leave you breathless,” gushes the online heart of Planet Oprah, Oprah.com, in a section devoted to OWN.
The media queen herself is central to an OWN ad that debuted in movie theaters, vowing to bring her talk-show-crafted message of self-empowerment to the channel’s bigger canvas.
“What if I could take every hero who inspired me, every lesson that motivated me, every opportunity that was ever given to me and give it to you,” says OWN chairwoman Winfrey.