By Ronald Grover | Reuters 27 mins ago (Reuters) - Oprah Winfrey 's Network, OWN, the iconic talk show host's 15-month old cable network , has laid off 30 staffers after persistently poor ratings. A talk show hosted by comedienne Rosie O'Donnell, for example, was canceled after five months. The cable network, owned jointly by Winfrey and Discovery Communications , has had a hard time finding an audience for most of its programming after being launched on January 2, 2011. Discovery, which announced the layoffs in a regulatory filing, said it provided $312 million to start and operate the OWN, an amount that exceeded its $189 million commitment to the joint venture. Some of those funds were borrowed by the venture, the company also said. "Early results of OWN's operations have been below its initial business plan," Discovery added. "The economics of a start-up cable network just don't work with the cost structure that was in place," Winfrey said i...

Oprah Winfreys struggling television network, OWN , said Monday it is laying off one-fifth of its workers and restructuring its operations in New York and Los Angeles. The decision to let 30 employees go is a tough one, but the economics of a start-up cable network didnt fit with OWNs cost structure, Winfrey said in a statement. AP photo/Harpo, Inc. OWN got a burst of viewer attention this month for Oprah Winfrey's exclusive interview with Whitney Houston's daughter, Bobbi Kristina, which drew 3.5 million viewers, the channel's biggest audience to date. As CEO, I have a responsibility to chart the course for long-term success for the network. To wholly achieve that long-term success, this was a necessary next step, Winfrey said. The responsibilities of the laid-off workers will be distributed among people with the network and its venture partners, Discovery Communications and Winfreys Harpo Studios, according to OWN. The cable channel, which launched Jan. 1, 2011, endured ...

Splash News/WENN By Jen Heger - Assistant Managing Editor of Radar It's becoming the battle of the talk show queens, as Rosie O'Donnell and Oprah Winfrey aren't talking to each other after Ms. O's decision to cancel Ro's talk show on her embattled cable television network, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting. As we previously reported , Winfrey decided last week to pull the plug on O'Donnell's talk show because of abysmal ratings. "It was such a f**king hellhole," one former staffer told The Daily Beast in an in-depth look at what went wrong with the show. PHOTOS: Rosie Sells $2.5M Home In One Day - Take A Peek Inside! Winfrey did call Rosie to tell her that the show was being canceled and "it was a very strained conversation, obviously," according to a source close to the situation. "Oprah wanted! to hand le the announcement of the cancellation in a professional and dignified manner. Rosie thanked Oprah for the opportuni...

Lady Gaga has joined forces with Oprah Winfrey to launch her "Born This Way Foundation" to tackle bullying and empower young people. 10:31pm, Thu 1 Mar 2012 Firms may run English roads England's major roads could be run by private firms under plans to boost infrastructure spending. New roads could be paid for by tolls. Firms may run English roads Football star fights for life Premier League footballer Fabrice Muamba is in intensive care after collapsing during an FA Cup tie. Paramedics could not get his heart to start beating on its own for almost two hours. Football star fights for life

Oprah Winfrey sold her New York City penthouse in less than a week despite its $7.9 million price tag, sources told the New York Post. ADVERTISEMENT Although the listing broker Mark Schoenfeld of the Corcoran Group declined to answer questions, the Post's sources say the British financier who bought the three-bedroom, 3.5-bath, 2,530-square-foot condominium tendered his offer the same week he viewed the unit. "It didn't take a lot to sell it," an insider told The Post. Winfrey bought the 26th floor unit -- in the name of her late Cocker Spaniel Sophie -- for $7.1 million in 2008. Although amenities included a 768-square-foot balcony, chef's kitchen, a master suite with three walk-in closets and floor-to-ceiling windows with views from Central Park to the Hudson River, the former talk show queen never lived there: Her friend Gayle King did and Winfrey would visit, The Post said Saturday. Copyright 2012 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any repr

18 March 2012 Last updated at 09:18 ET Winfrey said O'Donnell had worked to put on the best show "every single day" Rosie O'Donnell's daily US talk show has been axed from Oprah Winfrey's TV channel after five months for failing to attract high ratings. The Rosie Show's debut in October, featuring Russell Brand, drew 500,000 viewers. It averaged 204,000 last month, according to Variety magazine. Winfrey, who set up her Oprah Winfrey Network in January 2011, hailed "an incredible partner". O'Donnell's previous chat show, which ran from 1996-2002, won multiple Emmys. Winfrey said she had learned that "a new network launch is always a challenge and ratings grow over time as you continue to gather an audience". O'Donnell said she had been welcomed "with open arms". "I wish the show was able to attract more viewers but it did not so I am headed back to my home in New York with gratitude - on we go." The prod...

The Oprah Winfrey Network has canceled Rosie O'Donnell's daily talk show after five months on air due to plunging ratings, the network said. ADVERTISEMENT "The Rosie Show," taped in the same Chicago studio as Winfrey's long-running daytime show, will come to an end March 30, OWN announced Friday. In recent weeks, viewership has slipped from a daily average of 500,000 to 150,000, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday. "I loved working with Oprah in the amazing city of Chicago. I was welcomed with open arms and will never forget the kindness of all I encountered," O'Donnell said in a statement. "It was a great year for me -- I wish the show was able to attract more viewers -- but it did not. So I am headed back to my home in New York -- with gratitude. On we go!" In recent months, O'Donnell had changed the format of the show, downscaling the production and stripping it of the studio audience and band, the Los Angeles Times reported. Winfrey...