OWN Your Opinion

Now that the new OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network TV channel) has been on the air for a while, I'm curious to hear everyone's take on the new network. I'd like to hear from those who love it and from those who hate it (respectfully please), from those who like it ok occasionally and those who aren't too enthused, from those who watch it a lot and those who rarely watch it at all, from those who don't have it but wish they did and those who didn't even know it existed.

As a person, I like Oprah, from what I know of her that is, and I certainly respect her phenomenal success in the industry. To be honest though, I don't watch her show. Never did. I enjoy hearing her opinion on things occasionally, but not an hour's worth. I would prefer more of a Reader's Digest version and only now and then, not daily - and certainly not 24/7.

Still, I realize she has many, many fans, some of whom were likely looking forward to the new OWN network. I'm curious to hear what you think of the channel now that you've perhaps had some time to watch it. For me, as I had expected, it's a bit too much Oprah. Kind of 'all Oprah, all the time'. Except for a few fill ins here and there, most shows either feature Oprah or her friends like Gail and Dr Phil. There are shows to introduce and explain the channel, shows to provide a look backstage on the Oprah show. There's a Dr Phil series, a Gail show, a show which presents a different of Oprah's favorite people each week or episode, and a Q&A show featuring a group of Oprah's friends. Thus it seems like 24hrs of Oprah and friends, 24hrs of Oprah and people who share her views. I'm not sure I'd want quite that much of anyone, not even a best friend.

I'm curious to see if this format turns out to be a mistake for Oprah. It seems almost egotistical to me, having a station with 24hrs of one's view and one's friends. I would think it would be better to offer a bit more variety. Then again, the woman is a brilliant business person, so she probably knows what she's doing. If it is a mistake it would appear to be a 1st for her professionally. It will also be interesting to see if other stars and TV personalities follow suit so that we end up with a TV 'dial' filled with channels promoting individuals - at least, that is, those who can afford such a thing.

One, of course, probably isn't expected to watch the one channel all the time. I guess the benefit if you are an Oprah fan is that the channel provides more options for those times when you do want to watch some Oprah. Then again, that's what DVR is for.

Please, if you have the new OWN channel, let us hear your opinion. What do you like or dislike about it? Do you think it was a good decision for Oprah to buy a TV channel and to provide a format that offers mostly Oprah and her friends 24/7 - and mostly talk shows? Do you think it will ultimately succeed or fail? Do you even watch the channel at all? (I've personally only perused the listings and watched a minute or two here and there out of curiosity. On my satellite system, it's located adjacent to some of my favorite channels thus making it more visible to me.)

Now for YOUR opinion...