Oprah Winfrey Signs Mega Deal With Apple to Make Movies, TV Shows, Books
Oprah Winfrey is ready to extend her empire to Apple.
The media mogul is signing a huge, multi-year content deal with the tech giant, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The deal includes film, TV, applications, books and other content to be distributed on Apple's all-encompassing platform. Winfrey reportedly signed with Apple after being courted also by Netflix and Amazon.
The deal is non-exclusive since Winfrey remains chairman and CEO of the cable network OWN (70 percent of which is owned by Discovery Communications). In December, Winfrey renewed her contract with OWN through 2025.
She is exclusive to OWN for on-camera work for pay cable with the ability for on-camera work on other platforms on a limited basis — which would allow her to have some on-camera roles in the Apple content she produces.
Winfrey's deal comes during an "arms race" for big-name content creators among streaming companies, with Netflix recently poaching Shonda Rhimes from ABC and Ryan Murphy from Fox/FX and also making a deal for content produced by Barack and Michelle Obama. Amazon just signed Nicole Kidman to a first-look movie and TV deal.
Winfrey is a proven creator. Her Harpo film division was responsible for Oscar-nominated "Selma." And she is an executive producer on the acclaimed OWN series "Queen Sugar" and "Greenleaf."