Oprah Finds Audience With New Series

Oprah Winfrey kicked off the second year of her beleaguered OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network with a ratings hit.

The Jan. 1 premiere of its new primetime series Oprah's Next Chapter drew 1.1 million viewers, the biggest premiere for the network since the Jan. 1 2011 debut of Oprah Behind The Scenes, which drew 1.2 million viewers, according to network officials.

The two-hour series premiere for Oprah's Next Chapter -- in which Winfrey interviewed Aerosmith frontman and American Idol judge Steven Tyler -- posted a 1.1 rating in the network's key demo during its 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. airing, up 463% over the December 2011 time period average. The series also garnered double digit growth across all key demos versus year ago network launch numbers, said the network.

That's good news for the network, which struggled to meet lofty ratings expectations during its first year on air. OWN, which took over Discovery Health's feed, averaged 89,000 viewers in its key female 25-54 demo, barely topping Discovery Health's 84,000 viewers in the demo a year prior, according to Nielsen.

Overall, OWN averaged 255,000 total viewers in 2011, compared to Discovery Health's 252,000 viewers in 2010, said Nielsen.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.