Oprah Winfrey is going to go out with 20 seasons in syndication.
The queen of daytime talk is going to call it a day at the conclusion of the
2005-2006 season, King World Productions executives confirmed Monday morning.
Winfrey has signed a new deal to host her show for another two seasons beyond
her current pact with distributor King World. The current contract runs through
the 2003-2004 season.
King World has renewed The Oprah Winfrey Show on the top ABC
owned-and-operated stations through the 2005-2006 season -- WABC-TV New York, KABC-TV Los
Angeles, WLS-TV Chicago, WPVI-TV Philadelphia and KGO-TV San Francisco.
Other ABC stations renewing include WTVD-TV Raleigh/Durham, N.C., and KFSN-TV
Fresno, Calif.
Winfrey's ratings have slipped this season, but the talk show is still the
highest-rated talk show in all of syndication. In the most recent national
weekly ratings, Oprah averaged a
talk-show-best 5.6 rating, according to Nielsen Media
Research.
