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Oprah Winfrey CEO of OWN Network

oprah ta da AP
Associated Press

Oprah Winfrey announced in a statement Wednesday that she will become the new CEO and chief creative officer of OWN (The Oprah Winfrey Network) this fall after the network suffered from unfavorable ratings.

“I am ready to dedicate my full creative energy and focus as the full time CEO of OWN,” said Winfrey.

Winfrey has joined forces with Discovery Communications and its CEO, Peter Liguori and has named two of her assistants from the “Oprah” show, Erik Logan and Sheri Salata, to immediately beginning serving as presidents of the network.

“By aligning the mission, talent and leadership of Erik, Sheri, and the OWN team, the Harpo team, along with the expertise of David Zaslav, Peter and all of Discovery behind us, we can unleash the full potential of the network,” said Winfrey.

According to The Washington Post, Winfrey purchased the telecast rights of one of television’s popular reality shows, “Undercover Boss” in an effort to raise the ratings of the network. Winfrey originally brought an audience to the show during his premiere season after dedicating an episode of the “Oprah” show to it in 2010.

“The self-contained episodes will serve as strong anchors to complement OWN original programming,” said OWN’S senior vice-president, Scott Garner.

But reruns are not the only news plans for the network, news shows are also planned to be released in January including “Rosie,” “Oprah Presents Master Class,” “In The Bedroom With Dr. Laura Berman” and “Oprah’s Next Chapter”.

“The announcement of Oprah, Erik and Sheri completed the plan for developing a strategic creative track and finding the right management team to execute on that plan going forward,” said Ligouri. “I look forward to a robust new season with Lisa Ling, Rosie and a number of projects that will continue building OWN’s audience, brand strength and growth.”

Winfrey will be taking the place of OWN’s previous CEO, Christina Norman who was hired in 2009.