Oprah Winfrey’s massive media empire in a downturn

While I would never bet against the Oprah Winfrey franchise continuing to grow the New York Times just wrote an article saying the “O” brand is currently in a down turn.

• According to Nielsen Media Research, the average audience for The Oprah Winfrey Show has fallen nearly 7 percent this year, the third straight year of decline.
• According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, the sales of O, The Oprah Magazine, has fallen by more than 10 percent in the last three years, and the magazine is now seeking a new editor in chief after the announced retirement of its longtime steward, Amy Gross.
• Oprah’s Big Give, an ABC philanthropic reality show, beat every program on television except American Idol in its premiere week this winter, but steadily lost nearly one-third of its audience during the rest of its eight-week run, according to Nielsen.
• A syndicated talk/cooking show featuring Rachael Ray has been less successful and has recently fallen out of Nielsen’s list of the top 25 syndicated programs.

So why the downturn for Oprah’s tv show and brand? It’s not one thing but Winfrey has lost viewers in some markets while The Ellen DeGeneres Show has gained.

Also her endorsement of the presidential bid of Senator Barack Obama appears to have alienated some of the middle-aged white women who make up the bulk of her television audience, many of whom support Senator Hillary Clinton. A Gallup poll conducted in October, shortly after Ms. Winfrey announced her support of Mr. Obama, found that her “favorable” rating fell by 8 percentage points, to 66 percent, from 74 percent in January 2007; her “unfavorable” mark jumped by more than half, to 26 percent from 17 percent. Oprah cut back her schedule in appearances in support of Mr. Obama. Following high-profile rallies just prior to the Iowa caucuses in December and leading up to Super Tuesday in February, Ms. Winfrey all but disappeared from the campaign trail, leading some pundits to wonder whether she had gauged a negative effect on her business.

Don’t feel too sorry for Oprah, she topped the list of famous people for earnings in 2007, with $260 million.

Winfrey is also continuing to develop new programs. A spinoff talk show featuring Dr. Mehmet Oz is planned for 2009, and earlier this year she signed a development deal for television projects featuring Kirstie Alley.
Also Oprah Winfrey’s massive media empire is about to expand. Discovery Communications Inc. will launch a 50-50 joint venture, partnership with Oprah Winfrey in the second half of next year.