While Chicago is an important place in Oprah Winfrey’s life, she is shutting down her Harpo Studios there. Instead, the OWN Network productions will be based at OWN’s new West Hollywood headquarters.
Winfrey made the announcement herself on Tuesday at the Harpo offices in Chicago. She acknowledged how important Chicago has been in her life, but it is now time for her to move forward and consolidate OWN’s business.
“The time had come to downsize this part of the business and to move forward,” Winfrey told The Hollywood Reporter. “It will be sad to say goodbye, but I look ahead with such a knowing that what the future holds is even more than I can see.”
While OWN is a smaller network than cable channels, it is still doing much better, leaving behind the low ratings it experienced at its launch. Now four years old, Winfrey is hoping that by consolidating operations, the network can keep the momentum going. She co-owns the network with Discovery Communications.
According to TheWrap, 200 employees will be impacted, but they will stay employed through the end of 2015. The site’s source said that a “handful” of executive producers will probably move to Los Angeles to continue overseeing production of OWN shows like Oprah Prime and Oprah’s Master Class.
Winfrey does plan on producing TV shows and movies and will finally act in a series for the network. She will have a recurring part in Queen Sugar from Selma’s Ava DuVernay.
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