Discovery Communications ups its stakes in OWN by 24.5%

Discovery Communications, an American mass media company, has reportedly signed an agreement wherein the company has paid $70 million to acquire additional 24.5 per cent stake in the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) joint venture Harpo, increasing Discovery Communications’ ownership stake to more than 70 per cent in OWN. 

In a decade long JV with Discovery, this is the first payment from Harpo’s ownership stake in OWN. However, with this move, Winfrey will continue in her role as CEO alongside her commitment with the network extending up to 2025. Also, Harpo will be retaining a significant minority interest in OWN. Upping its stakes in OWN will also  mean that Discovery will now hold a majority position in the five of the top pay-TV networks for women, representing 20% share of women watching primetime pay-TV in the U.S.

OWN was launched in 2011, and after several recurring losses, OWN stayed resilient and has become the No. 1 network for African-American women with the top four original scripted series on ad-supported cable.