Rating Oprah's OWN network

The Oprah Winfrey Network launched on January 1. Can the Queen of Daytime TV become even more influential or is she setting herself up to fail?

Oprah will reportedly appear on her 24/7 network only two or three times a week.
(Image credit: YouTube)

The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) began broadcasting on January 1, with a slate of programming including reruns of shows hosted by Dr. Phil McGraw, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Rachael Ray — and the promise of new reality TV series following Ryan and Tatum O'Neal and the former Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson. Oprah herself will appear in a 25-episode fly-on-the-wall reality TV series, "Behind the Scenes: The Oprah Show Final Season." Does Oprah's golden touch ensure OWN will be a success — or has the Queen of Daytime TV overestimated her appeal? (See a behind-the-scenes look at Oprah)

We've seen this show before: Color me "disappointed," says Jennifer E. Mabry in The Root. Oprah's slate of reality TV and makeover programs just adds to "an already glutted market of voyeuristic dreck." Was it really too much to hope that Oprah might use her star power to "improve the television landscape" with the kind of "high-quality, black-themed fare" her film company, Harpo Films, has made? What a "missed opportunity."

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