Winfrey Wonders About Show Longevity

Oprah Winfrey is wondering out loud how long her show will go on.

Winfrey, one of the most powerful figures in today’s media, will decide this year whether to continue her show, the highest-rated daytime talk show in television history, into the next century.

“It gets harder every day,” Winfrey said in an interview published in Friday’s New York Daily News. “When you’ve done it for 12 years, you’ve covered every topic.”

Winfrey said she would tape 200 more shows by spring 1998 but wasn’t sure if she would pursue another 200 shows, which would take her through the year 2000.

“Do we go to 2000, which really means, do we have 400 more shows?” she asked. “Do we really have 400 more ways to speak to the country?”

Television syndicator King World, which distributes Winfrey’s show, has seen its stock languish in recent years, in part because of concern about the show’s longevity.

King World reportedly has been in discussions with Roseanne about making her host of a daily talk show.