Oprah To End Show in 2011

Oprah Winfrey will end her talk show when he contract expires in 2011. Tim Bennett, the president of her production company Harpo, said the following in a message to affiliates:

"Tomorrow, Oprah will announce live on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' that she has decided to end what is arguably one of the most popular, influential and enduring programs in television history. The sun will set on the Oprah show as its 25th season draws to a close on Sept. 9, 2011."

Why would Oprah quit? Poor ratings are not the reason. While her daily ratings are not as big as they used to be, with all the distractions of the Internet and hundreds of cable channels, it's unlikely that any new daytime talk show will be able to repeat the success of "Oprah" anytime soon.

No, it's because Oprah Winfrey wants to concentrate on her coming cable channel, OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. OWN will premiere in January 2011, according to an anonymous source speaking with tne New York Times. OWN is a joint venture between her production company and the Discovery Networks.

The timing of the launch and the end of her contract is a positive for OWN. Though not said, Oprah Winfrey will obviously be able to promote OWN for the time before her contract ends.

Winfrey, 55, informed her talk show staff of her decision on Thursday afternoon. She had previously stated she would make a decision about whether she would extend her contract or sign a new one by the end of this year.

Seriously, Kids Need Less TV: Disney Offers "Baby Einstein" Refunds

I was watching TV the other day (admittedly, lowering my IQ while doing so), and saw one of those "Your Child Can Read" commercials, which immediately suckered me in. Not so my wife, however, and that's where Baby Einstein refunds for their DVDs come in.

Walt Disney Company has admitted that no, watching TV really can't make your child into a genius, or at least, watching Baby Einstein DVDs can't. In order to avoid a lawsuit, Disney has agreed to refund the full purchase price to those who bought the videos between June 5, 2004 and September 4, 2009.

The Baby Einstein refunds were prompted by pressure from the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which complained to the FTC about Disney's claims that the videos are educational.

You can get your Baby Einstein refund here. Alternatively, you can opt for One (1) Baby Einstein Book of your choice and One (1) Baby Einstein music CD of your choice, - Or - One (1) coupon for 25% off the purchase of one Little Einsteins product (redeemable with promotion code only at DisneyStore.com, which makes it less of a great deal). Disney was quick to state that the refund offer is not an admission that the company misled parents.

The best choice is probably the Baby Einstein refund. On Monday, Nielsen released new findings that said that children sit in front of TV for more than an entire day out of an average week. It makes sense. Remember the old, old days when Saturday morning cartoons were it, and the TV stations logged off at 1 AM or so? Those days are long gone, and kid programming is available 24 x 7 from multiple channels.

Look Mom! I'm on TV!

This morning I had the opportunity to be interviewed on the Fox 2 Morning Show in St. Louis.

The segment was a part of the STL Moms series and I was interviewed by Margie Ellisor on "5 things you can do as a parent to help your kid succeed on the athletic field".

CHECK IT OUT:

http://www.myfoxstl.com/myfox/pages/InsideFox/Detail?contentId=6145645&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=5.2.1

Another reminder....admitted students day is on April 5th!