Report: Oprah Winfrey to End Syndicated Talk Show

Is Oprah getting ready to wave goodbye to her talk show? That’s the word.

Oprah Winfrey plans to end her syndicated talk show in 2011, according to reports, and set-up shop on her OWN network, the yet-to-launch Oprah Winfrey Network.

The talk show host is reportedly relocating her headquarters to Los Angeles in the fall of 2011 when her syndication deal with CBS Television ends, which would coincide with ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’s’ 25th anniversary.

Some insiders believe she’ll extend her lucrative deal for her current talk show at least another year or even two, but Deadline Hollywood reports that Oprah was backed into a corner by her OWN network.

Discovery Communications, partners in the long-delayed joint venture, allegedly told Winfrey to “move it or lose it,” meaning “move her talk show to OWN, or risk losing the Oprah Winfrey Network altogether,” according to Nikki Finke.

A spokesman for Harpo Productions would only say that Oprah will announce her future plans by the end of the year. A CBS insider claims, “In all honesty, we have not heard she’s made a decision yet whether to continue.”

The move would be a major blow to broadcast affiliates, and would represent a major shift in the media maven’s empire, which has been based in Chicago since 1983.

Speculation surfaced early Thursday when it was announced that Oprah’s co-executive producer Lisa Erspamer has been named chief creative officer of the Oprah Winfrey Network. Erspamer, who has worked for Oprah’s Harpo Productions for 15 years, will move to Los Angeles and assume her new responsibilities in January.

If the talk show queen does indeed ditch daytime for her OWN venture, I’m sure Ellen, Tyra, Martha, and even Rachael Ray wouldn’t shed a tear.

Would you miss Oprah? Would you pay for cable to follow Oprah to her new channel?

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