Oprah’s OWN Approaching $330 Million Loss

Analysts say OWN's parent company, Discovery, may drop the network soon if things don't improve. 

Posted: 05/08/2012 11:57 AM EDT

A new report shows Oprah Winfrey may have lost her luster. The media queen’s still-fledgling television network OWN is not simply experiencing a slow climb to the top, but has hemorrhaged a staggering $330 million since 2008. It may be headed toward full cancellation, writes Bloomberg Businessweek:


“From its 2008 inception through Dec. 31, OWN may have lost as much as $330 million, based on Discovery’s annual 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Even if OWN makes money in 2013, as predicted by a person with knowledge of the operation who was not authorized to speak publicly, it has saddled Discovery with such high costs that analysts say the company may eventually be forced to write off some of its current $420 million investment.


They’re “not at that point yet, but it’s probably rapidly approaching,” says accounting and tax consultant Robert Willens. OWN, adds David Bank, a media analyst at RBC Capital Markets, is the most “successful failure in television today.””


Read the full story here.

 

 

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