There had been lots of speculation that Oprah Winfrey was going to be giving up on her juggernaut of a syndicated talk show soon, but many of those rumors had been dismissed as negotiating ploys or some other silly rumor. Now, however, it seems like Oprah's departure from daytime is official: Tim Bennett, president of Harpo, confirmed that Oprah will announce on her show tomorrow that she will be ending the program on September 9, 2011.

Not coincidentally, that date is the day after the 25th anniversary of her first nationally-syndicated episode, and she'll mark the anniversary on her last show. Bennett told WCCO that this decision was under discussion for months, but the decision ultimately came down to the big O herself.

With the Oprah Winfrey Network currently set to launch around that time (it's the longest cable network launch I've ever seen; VH1 will change formats ten times between now and then), it would make sense that she would continue some form of her show there. But, as Allison speculated, I can't imagine it'll be the same as the syndicated show. What would be the point of doing the same show for a smaller audience? What kind of show do you think she'll do on OWN?

[Update: Apparently, first word of her departure came from WABC right here in New York. Huh. I was watching the YES network at the time, so I missed it.]

[Thanks to Pete for the tip.]