Is "Oprah" Close to Being Finished?

The Oprah Winfrey Show may stop airing in 2011 when Oprah walks away from the show, according to a TV executive.

Discovery Communications President David Zaslav, who's currently in business with the Oprah Winfrey Network, said that Winfrey will walk away after the contract expires, to work on matters that pertain only to her own network.

"The expectation is that after (the 2010-11 season) her show will go off of . . . syndication, and she will come to OWN," Zaslav told the Chicago Tribune. "We're talking now about what that presence would be and what programming she would be involved in directly. But this is her Chapter Two, and building the OWN brand online and on-air is something that she and I, we're working (on) together and it's a core mission for her."

A spokeswoman for Winfrey's Harpo Productions said that the TV star has not made a decision on her future at this time.

"She has not made a final decision as to whether she will continue her show in syndication beyond that," spokeswoman Lisa Halliday said in a statement.