You're reading it here first.
Is the new Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) that launches on 1 January 2011 in America coming to South Africa and On Digital Media's (ODM) TopTV pay TV platform in next year?
I broke the news RIGHT HERE in October when MultiChoice told me that they did look and considered the possibility of pursuing OWN as a channel but will no longer do so for at least 6 months until after the channel has started.
That leaves only TopTV in South Africa.
Now keep in mind all of the following: OWN initially planned to only launch in America, but has now also decided to roll out in Canada as well. OWN is a joint venture with Discovery that distributes the channel and would also do so worldwide as and when that would happen. Discovery already has 3 Discovery channels on TopTV and there is an existing and growing relationship. Earlier this year I also asked Discovery in person whether they would roll out OWN worldwide and in South Africa specifically. I was told that the focus is initially on just getting OWN up and running and then launching in America.
This is where things are now getting very interesting: Consider this sudden, brand-new answer this week from the Harpo side of the Oprah Winfrey Network: ''We are exploring opportunities for additional OWN services in multiple locations in Australia and South Africa. Stay tuned!''
This means that OWN is now definitely looking at expanding the channel to more countries besides just America and Canada after its January launch.
I also asked TopTV whether the pay TV operator is in negotiations to get OWN but haven't been given a definite ''yes'' or ''no'' answer. TopTV reiterates that Discovery is the international distributor of the forthcoming Oprah channel and that Discovery's ''focus is to first secure the market in the US and Canada before worrying about the international market''.
''We have always been interested in taking the OWN channel because it is high profile and has generated a lot of buzz,'' Ian Woodrow, TopTV's general manager: channels, just told me. ''The final decision to actually take it will depend upon a number of factors,'' he says, adding: ''We will weigh up the channel on its own merits and the asking price.''
