The search for OWN is over: Oprah Winfrey Network launches this weekend
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It is shaping up to be the biggest launch of a new cable television channel in more than a decade.
OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network officially debuts at noon Saturday (9 a.m. PST for DirecTV subscribers), replacing the Discovery Health Channel. The launch is the culmination of more than 2 1/2 years of planning and more than $110 million in start-up costs.
Winfrey and Discovery have been managing expectations, in part, because people might have to hunt to find the network.
‘So far our greatest challenge has been letting everybody know where to find us,’ Winfrey said in a recent interview. ‘In time, people will learn where the channel is located.’ (There is a channel locater on Winfrey’s website)
More important, Winfrey said, is making sure that people who watch the channel feel satisfied. ‘I care about people coming to this channel and finding something meaningful, something that doesn’t waste their time, because so much of television is a waste of time,’ Winfrey said.
Read our features on Oprah and her new channel here and here.
-- Meg James
