RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
And in other business news, Oprah Winfrey plans to launch her own TV network. The talk show host will be chairman of a 50/50 joint venture between her own company Harpo Productions and Discovery Communications.
NPR's Wendy Kaufman has more.
WENDY KAUFMAN: The venture will be known as OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network. It's expected to go on the air in mid 2009 on what is now the Discovery Health Channel, an underperforming cable outlet available in more than 70 million homes.
In a conference call yesterday, Ms. Winfrey, the first black woman to attain billionaire status, said creating a TV network was the fulfillment of a dream she's had for 16 years.
Ms. OPRAH WINFREY (Talk Show Host): This is an evolution of what I've been able to do every day. I will now have the opportunity to do that 24 hours a day on a platform that goes on forever.
KAUFMAN: Winfrey will have full editorial control over the new venture, which will focus on the same themes as her daytime talk show, magazine and Web site - money, health, relationships, spirituality, and doing good in the world. Winfrey's talk show with her at the helm will continue, but not on the new network. Her show has already been syndicated through the 2010/2011 season.
Wendy Kaufman, NPR News.