Broadcasting & Cable
When “The Oprah Winfrey Show” goes off TV stations’ air on Sept. 9, 2011, the entity that stands to lose the most money is: Oprah.
Winfrey and her Harpo Productions take home by far the most profit from Oprah. CBS Television Distribution (CTD), which distributes the show, earns well south of $50 million annually in distribution fees on the show, estimates New York-based investment firm J.P. Morgan in a research note released this morning. Winfrey herself is worth an estimated $2.7 billion, according to Forbes.
Overall, Oprah is estimated to earn $4 million per week in cash license fees and another $2 million per week in national advertising sales, bringing the show’s annual total revenue to more than $300 million, plus what it earns internationally. CTD sells the show’s national advertising, but probably keeps only about 10% of that revenue.
“We think Oprah’s significance is likely overblown for CBS,” the note reads. “With the distribution loss, our back-of-the envelope calculation implies [an approximate] $0.03 EPS hit in 2012. Thats essentially a rounding error, in our view.” More…