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Discovery Health
'The Early Show' Reports on Oprah's Move to CEO and CCO of OWN (VIDEO)
News broke Wednesday that Oprah Winfrey has appointed herself CEO and Chief Creative Officer at the Oprah Winfrey Network. Thursday, 'The Early Show' (weekdays, 7AM on CBS) took a look at the nascent network and the problems its run into since launching. According tot he report, OWN is averaging 267,000 viewers in prime time viewing hours, an improvement of just 12,000 viewers over Discovery Health, the network it displaced.For someone used to dominating television in syndication, the numbers have to be a disappointment for Winfrey. But as Ronald Glover of Bloomberg Businessweek pointed out, cable is a different game. "Cable television is not afternoon television, it's not broadcast television," he told CBS. "The number of channels that the OWN channel is competing against is huge."
CBS also reported that Winfrey sent a memo to her staff, which read, in part, "We are in this boat together in a very real way now. And I will put my brand and my future on the line because I know this one team ... is the boat I want to be in." That's a good thing for Oprah, as since her show ended, OWN is the only TV boat she's in.
Carson Kressley and Cat Cora to Star in OWN Shows
It's a busy time for Oprah Winfrey's new cable network as OWN announces several executive staffing changes and that Carson Kressley and Cat Cora are developing new shows with the network.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, John MacDonald, formerly of MTV Networks, has been appointed COO/Executive VP Programming and Digital. He will report to CEO Christina Norman, who said that he "will be instrumental as we prepare for OWN's launch and the future of the network."
Fashion maven Kressley ('True Beauty') and celebrity chef Cora ('Iron Chef America') will be starring in lifestyle transformation or makeover shows for the fledgling network, which will "be devoted to self-discovery, to connecting you to your best self and to the world."
World's Oldest Mother on 'Pregnant at 70' (VIDEO)
The oldest woman in the world to give birth lives in northern India. Her story is told on the Discovery Health Channel special 'Pregnant at 70' (Thu., 8PM ET on DHC). Though to be honest, we don't know exactly how old the woman is -- because she isn't sure of her own birthday. She may be 70, or she may be as old as 72.The mother, Rajo Devi, had been trying for fifty years to have a baby with her 72-year-old husband. In India, a great amount of social stigma exists for married couples who don't have children. Devi became pregnant via in vitro fertilization -- even though she experienced menopause more than twenty years ago.
She now has a seven-month-old daughter. The doctor who preformed the in vitro operation said that he expected no medical difficulties. But he was concerned that the child would be orphaned at an early age, due to the advanced age of her parents.
What do you think? Do you find this to be a heartwarming story? Or a tale of medical science gone wrong?
Discovery Channel also going 3D
The only way a 3D version of ESPN could be cooler is if ESPN aired some kind of awesome competition at the X-Games that involved skateboarders and sharks. So until some stoned extreme sports team organizer invents "sharkboarding," we'll just have to settle with a three-dimensional Discovery Channel.
The network is teaming with Sony and IMAX to launch its own 3D, 24-hour channel by 2011. It doesn't say exactly what the programming will entail, but expect a lot of giant man-eating animals trying to jump out of your TV and claw their way up the food chain.
What would you do if you were Oprah?
There's a lot of speculation in the biz about what will Oprah do next. The daytime talk show giant supposedly made up her mind recently and decided that her syndicated show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, would end its run in syndication and move to OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network (formerly Discovery Health). An official announcement is anticipated before the end of the year, but is that really was Oprah has decided? Nobody knows for certain.There are pros and cons on either side. The companies that syndicated her talk show stand to lose a significant asset if she wraps up the current incarnation and abandons the market. Think of all those afternoon hours around that country that count on Oprah at three or four o'clock, or the morning slots where Oprah leads in to noon newscasts. Companies like CBS Distribution and the Tribune Company have feasted on the robust ratings Oprah has consistently delivered.
Is Oprah ending her syndicated show for her OWN show?
Yesterday there was a story on Deadline Hollywood that Oprah Winfrey would be ending her syndicated talk show in 2011 in order to move over to her OWN cable network. She'd still have a talk show, one based on Los Angeles, but it would not be syndicated. It would be on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), formerly Discovery Health. Well, after the news was reported all over the place, Oprah's company Harpo, Inc. issued a statement that there would be no announcement until the end of the year. They didn't deny it; they just said the announcement about the switch would be later in the year.
To the average fan, if Oprah stopped her syndicated show, it probably wouldn't matter too much. Most people have basic cable and OWN would probably be a major addition to most cable systems, as well as DirecTV and Dish. Longtime fans would be able to watch Oprah on cable or satellite. No biggie.
Just watch this: Sam the cooking guy is great!
Recently, I was channel surfing and I stopped on a show called Just Cook This! With Sam the Cooking Guy. The fact that it was on FitTV nearly made me move on (to me a healthy cooking show is oxymoronic!), but this guy Sam, the cooking guy, kept me tuned in. Well, I can now say without equivocation, Just Cook This! is my new favorite food show and I'm in love with Sam.Sam is actually not a formally trained chef or a caterer turned cook or a restaurateur or any of the other types that have made their way to TV. I looked him up and Sam Zein was a regular Joe, working for a pharmaceutical company, who dumped it all to make a TV show about travel, which turned into a food program instead. FitTV, which is part of Discovery, probably bought the show because they liked Sam. And that's the beauty of the show.
The Next Food Network Star runner up gets a show, too
Even though Food Network has had a few hiccups lately especially on The Next Food Network Star, I'm happy to see that the execs still can spot talent when it crosses their path. I watched the finale of The Next Food Network Star and saw Aaron McCargo Jr. win the title and then caught his new show Big Daddy's House. He was excellent and far more relaxed and appealing than he was on the competition show.In fact, in the finale episode, I was more impressed with one of the two contestants that didn't win, Adam Gertler. Now Food Network is giving Gertler his own show. The program is called Will Work for Food and it's going to be premiering on September 30 on Food Network.
Body in Numbers comes to Discovery
Discovery Health will be showing a four-part series about the human body this September. Body in Numbers will show viewers how the body functions throughout the day and how it adapts and reacts to things humans do. From the press release, the show sounds like it will be a lot of astounding statistics. The surface area of the lungs is about the size of a tennis court. And the fastest sneeze was clocked at 100 miles per hour (those are some fast boogies). So, if you're into cool graphics and interesting facts or just like learning about the human body, this sounds like it could be for you. However, as I read the press release, I couldn't help but wish that Discovery Health got the kid from Jerry Maguire to narrate the program.
Body in Numbers premieres Wednesday September 3rd at 8 p.m. ET / PT and will continue every Wednesday night in September.
Oprah developing new show for Dr. Oz
Please file this item under the "Duh" file: Dr. Mehmet Oz, Oprah's favorite medical expert, is getting a spin-off talk show. Harpo Productions, Oprah's company, is developing a Dr. Oz talk show to commence fall of 2009.According to insiders, the Harpo team had meetings with distributor in Chicago last month. A medical talker with Doc Oz, which I bet will be called Ask Dr. Oz -- the name of his successful segments on Oprah's show -- would follow in the footsteps of Dr. Phil. Remember, Dr. Phil McGraw began his life as a talker by appearing on Oprah in infrequent hours that were a de facto pilot for his own talk show. Dr. Phil then launched in 2002, as a Harpo production, and has been a big time hit. He's even challenged Oprah in some markets.
Get ready for The Oprah Network
You think Oprah Winfrey is already the most powerful person on television? You have no idea.
Winfrey and Discovery Communications announced a deal today that will have the Discovery Health Channel given to Oprah and switched to The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN - really!). In return, Discovery gets Oprah's web site. I'm not really sure what getting to run Oprah's web site means for Discovery, but it will be part of the network.
The Duggars welcome number 17 to the clan
If you're a fan of the channels that make up the Discovery Communications kingdom then you have probably seen Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar and their 16 children in one of their specials. Maybe it was Raising 16 Children, where we were introduced to the Duggar clan, or On the Road With 16 Children, which focused on their trip to Disneyland. Or, perhaps, you may have caught Creating an Independent Country With 16 Children, which was shown only once and removed from the air by the government (and, if you watched that special, they would like to have a word with you. Something about conspiracy).
Well, get ready for another slew of specials because Michelle, Jim Bob, and all of their J-named children have welcomed a new baby girl into the brood. Jennifer Danielle Duggar was born on August 2nd at 10:01 in the morning. She weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and measured 21 inches long. Jennifer is the seventh girl to be born to the Duggars, who previously had six girls and 10 boys, including two sets of twins. Mother and baby are doing just fine and Michelle is already saying she'd love to have more children.
By the way, I was serious about a new set of specials. Discovery Health will premiere a new Duggar show in September that will feature Jennifer Danielle shortly after her birth and at home with her family.
Leslie Nielsen is your guide to the "ologies"
Starting July 14 at 8:00 and 8:30 p.m., Discovery Health will air a new program called Doctor*ology, a look at all the different "ologies" going on at your local hospital.
The series will be hosted by actor Leslie Nielsen, who will inject a bit of comedy into each episode along with his nephew, Robert. Based on the press releases, expect an educational program with plenty of goofy comedy to make it appealing.
That's Fit presents this week's FitTV
Our fitness-focused sister site, That's Fit, has posted FitTV, a list of this week's health and fitness related programming. Here are some quick picks from the schedule:NBC
The Biggest Loser - 9/20, 8/7c (two hour season premiere!)
DISCOVERY HEALTH CHANNEL
I Lost It! (Episode: Carla & Shawn) - 9/19; 6:30am, 11am ET
I Lost It! (Episode: Allison & Robin) - 9/20; 6:30am, 11am ET
I Lost It! (Episode: Debi & Bob) - 9/21; 6:30am, 11am ET
I Lost It! (Episode: Dana & Caitlin) - 9/22; 6:30am, 11am ET
Relay For Life: Giant Steps - 9/23; 10am ET
VH1
Celebrity Fit Club (Episode: Put Up or Shut Up) - 9/18; 11PM ET
For the full list, check out FitTV: September 18 - September 24.
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