Apple has announced a unique, non-exclusive multi-year content partnership with Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey is the esteemed producer, actress, talk show host, philanthropist, and CEO of OWN.
Together, Winfrey and Apple will create original programs that embrace her incomparable ability to connect with audiences around the world. Winfrey’s projects will be released as part of a lineup of original content from Apple.
The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that the new pact with Apple will include content from film, television, applications, books, and other mediums that Apple’s platform can distribute. Other tech giants, possibly including Netflix and Amazon, were competing for a deal and Apple is said to have “aggressively pursued” Winfrey in order to make the multi-year partnership happen.
Winfrey will remain chairman and CEO of the Discovery-backed cable network OWN, especially after her deal with the network extended through at least 2025. Part of her deal with OWN allows Winfrey to star in on-camera roles for potential Apple content on a limited basis.
This latest content partnership comes on the heels of writers and producers like Shonda Rhimes and Ryan Murphy landing deals at Netflix. Apple and Amazon have now been seeking out other top talents by offering “more than typical overall deals used to include.” Recently, Amazon announced a first-look film and TV partnership with Nicole Kidman, for example.
Winfrey’s other projects include her podcast version of her Emmy-winning Super Soul Sunday series on Apple Podcasts, and executive producing OWN’s Queen Sugar and Greenleaf. She also produced Oscar-winning features such as Selma — which she also starred in — through her Harpo banner. Her other TV credits include HBO’s The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Oprah’s Master Class, and she famously hosted The Oprah Winfrey Show.
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