OPRAH GETS A NETWORK

Here’s more proof that Oprah Winfrey is taking over the world! The powerful talk show host has joined forces with Discovery Communications to create the Oprah Winfrey Network, or OWN. “Didn’t those initials work out,” Oprah jokes. The new network, which is set to launch 2009, will reflect the Oprah voice, brand and vision. “I’ll be involved in every single element of programming,” she says.

Oprah, who wrote down a goal of running her own network nearly 16 years ago, is currently developing programming designed to help viewers create their best lives possible. “This is an opportunity for me to really step out of the box and to be able to do, on a regular basis, the kind of shows that make my heart sings. The kind of shows that inspire people,” Oprah shares. “The thing that really matters to me most is being able to change peoples’ view of themselves, to give them information in such a way they get to think differently about their lives.”

OWN won’t be airing repeats of Oprah’s flagship series, The Oprah Winfrey Show, which she's exclusively contracted to through 2011. “One day the show has to come to an end,” says Oprah, who has yet to make a decision on whether she’ll continue her hit series on her OWN or create an entirely new vechicle for the network.