Apple just signed Oprah Winfrey to a streaming deal that will “create original programs that embrace her incomparable ability to connect with audiences around the world,” according to the Washington Post.
Winfrey, who made her career off of creating pioneering television, is now taking on the world of streaming, which she previously stayed out of. During the 1990s and 2000s, an appearance on her daytime show could make an unknown business person or personality a star overnight. Entering the streaming game means that Oprah is expanding her media empire even further.
For Apple, signing Oprah will expand its influence to Hollywood and make it competitive with another streaming giant, Netflix.
Here is more on Oprah’s deal from the Post:
The deal marks at least the third major get for Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg, the former Sony Pictures Television executives whom Apple hired in mid-June 2017. The company late last year landed a Reese Witherspoon-Jennifer Aniston dramedy set in the world of morning TV, which it is actively developing with “Bates Motel” showrunner Kerry Ehrin, and also is collaborating with Steven Spielberg for a revival of his 1980s anthology series “Amazing Stories.” It is expected to begin streaming its first content — either one or more of these three main gets — next year.
Her close friend former President Barack Obama signed a deal with Netflix to produce original content.
Let’s see who will invite whom on their show first!