After three years of planning, the much-anticipated 24/7 cable channel will launch at noon EST, on Saturday, on what is now the Discovery Health Channel, carrying over some of the biggest hits from Discovery Health, such as Mystery Diagnosis and Deliver Me, according to Winfrey’s website.
"We really don't want to be a niche brand. We want to be a mainstream cable” network that appeals beyond Winfrey's existing fan base, Darren Schillace, vice president of consumer marketing for OWN told the Associated Press.
Phase one of the marketing effort strives to “manage expectations that it’s not 24/7 Oprah on the network,” Schillace said. Winfrey is still planning to appear in at least 70 hours of the programming in 2011.
On her website Winfrey describes the network as devoted “to self-discovery, to connecting you to your best self, and to the world.”
"What if I could take every hero who inspired me, every lesson that motivated me, every opportunity that was ever given to me, and give it to you," Winfrey said, according to the AP.
OWN will be available in about 85 million homes from many television service providers, including Comcast, Cablevision, Time Warner, Cox, Charter, DirecTV, Dish Network, AT&T U-Verse, and Verizon Fios.
Oprah.com offers a channel finder based on the zip code and television service provider with area-specific channel numbers.
"On New Year's Day, I want you to be pointed in the right direction," Schillace told the AP.
