OPRAH’S NETWORK SUFFERING BIRTH PANGS

While Oprah Winfrey has enjoyed a remarkable run of successes, some cable operators are not convinced that her new cable network OWN, set to debut on Jan.1, is a sure thing and are balking at the carriage fees being asked for it, according to Bloomberg News. The channel is being sold to the cable companies by Discovery Communications, which is partnered with Winfrey in OWN, and which is charging three times what it gets for Discovery Health, the channel that OWN is replacing; DirecTV has refused outright to carry the channel at the higher fee, Bloomberg said. According to the wire service, Winfrey, whose appearances on the channel will be limited until her current syndicated talk show ends next September, is acting primarily as a programmer of the channel and is also making personal calls to advertisers to line them up as sponsors of the network’s shows. While the channel is expected to generate $101.7 million in its first year, according to media researcher SNL Kagan, programming costs alone will amount to more than $162.3 million. It is not expected to become profitable until 2014.