Oprah Winfrey Network Solutions by Jason Mathas

OWN Programming Solutions
SUBSTANCE BEFORE STYLE

Jason Mathas © 2011 • jmathas@me.com

  COKE-Classic
  JayLeno-The Tonight Show
  Michael Jordan-Basketball Player
  Oprah Winfrey-Show


  Classic Coke-The Flagship of Soft Drinks


  Jay Leno-The King Of Late Night


  MICHAEL JORDAN-BASKETBALL
LEGEND


  OPRAH WINFREY-THESHOW, THE
PERSONALITY, THE INDIVIDUAL


  Previousbrand success
guarantees nothing for future endeavors.
  NEW COKE
  JAY LENO SHOW-in PRIMETIME
  MICHAEL JORDAN-BASEBALL
EXPERIMENT
  OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK-
Programming Lineup From Launch to
Present

  Attempting to build on brand strength
and recognition with line extension is a
great theory, but not guaranteed
successful in practical application.
  New Coke was a disastrous experiment,
despite Coke’s long standing history of
success.
  Brand name and momentum do not make
all future related ventures automatic
winners.

  Jay Leno Show is cancelled.
  Same guy, same format, same network
(only 90 minutes earlier)…and the result
was an embarrassing failure.
  The experiment didn’t work at all.
  It’s not about logic, projections or
expectations.
  There are decisions, results and
consequences.

  Possibly the most transcendent sports figure
of the 20th century (and beyond) reveals his
fatal flaw “on the diamond”, then leaves it on
display to potentially tarnish his reputation
as the world’s greatest basketball player.
  The strongest athletic brand in the world,
the same guy who ruled the hardwood then
elevated the possible in real and surreal
ways, became a punchline in spikes.


  OWN struggles with a revolving door of
employees and execs.
  OWN can’t find its OWN identity, despite
the blueprint Oprah spent 25 years crafting.
  Discovery invests $100M…Plus $89M…Plus
$50M. $239M is exorbitant to repair
something that wasn’t broken.
  OWN doesn’t need a “demolition” however,
a systematic, progressive and immediate
“renovation” is imperative.


  Oprah is in good company when it comes
to successful, failsafe juggernauts faltering.
If it can happen to Coke, Jay Leno, Michael
Jordan…then, while not expected, it’s not
unfathomable it could happen to Oprah.


  In1912, the cost to build the Titanic was
$7.5M
  The cost today would be approximately
$400M.


  The movie Titanic cost over $200M.
  The movie has grossed more than $1.8B


  Waterworld cost $175M.
  Waterworld made about $264M.


  OWN has been given more than enough
money to remake the movie Titanic,
nearly enough to build a new version of
the actual ship…but OWN has delivered
Waterworld.
  Why is this happening?
  Why is it continuing to happen?
  OWN has practically crashed into a
glacier…but there’s hope.

  Recognition must be followed immediately by action.
  Coke, NBC (Leno) and Jordan all made damaging admissions
of a serious error in judgment and action then rectified their
missteps.
  Classic Coke became bigger than Coke had ever been.
  NBC ousted Conan, put Leno back and everything rose to
the top once again.
  Jordan came back to basketball and reestablished himself as
the pinnacle of athletic excellence.
  OWN simply must accept and acknowledge its mistakes and
adjust its philosophy and daily practices. Oprah will return to
prominence and collectively OWN can exceed her greatest
past successes.


  Success creates amnesia in the public
consciousness concerning past failures.
  The key to success is not simply making
correct decisions with consistency.
  The key to success is recognizing and
identifying missteps as quickly as possible
and acting accordingly…immediately.
  Minimizing damage and managing errors is
crucial, but handling the inevitable difficulties,
challenges and problems is even more
critical.


  Expanding programming horizons to
encompass Oprah’s entire realm of influence
and interest, rather than just her, her show
and her current target audience.
  The OWN Network has to be much more
grand and enormous in its vision and appeal.
  Empowering, inspiring shows that capture
Oprah’s core and tangential audiences must
comprise the bulk of OWN’s programming
lineup.


  A concerted effort to squander money and
tarnish Oprah’s image couldn’t have
produced a result much different than
OWN’s predicament.
  The current approach isn’t working, nor has
any prior approach during OWN’s existence.
  If it was working, why is OWN floundering
and burning through money like a
compulsive gambler trying “to get back to
even”.


  The anagram simply represents the
urgency for a dramatic alteration in
philosophy and approach.
  OWN must operate with a sense of
urgency. Discovery has already
committed nearly a quarter billion ($.
25B) to the project and it won’t continue
subsidizing a flatlining network if radical
improvements aren’t made in the next 6
months.


  Shania Twain, Tatum O’Neal and Sarah Ferguson…boo hoo.
  Shania’s husband left her for another woman.
  Tatum’s Dad is an immature jerk.
  Fergie’s trying to pick up the pieces.
  That club is about as exclusive as the world population.
  The difference is, they all have money, success, fame, means…they
aren’t on the verge of eviction, repossession, bankruptcy etc…
  It’s hard to feel sorry for people who’ve experienced the pinnacle
of life and now have to get used to living, normal everyday struggles
the rest of us go through, like they’re really overcoming.
  Your audience should be inspired, motivated and empowered by
OWN’s programming.
  Your current approach is alienating rather than influencing while
creating intrigue and loyalty across all network programming.


  Inan attempt to diversify, you’ve become
scattered, without focus or direction.
  Celebrity is passing, not lasting.
  Thus the audience for that type of
programming is fickle and subject to
whims.
  Substance is what you build a long-term
foundation upon while ensuring longevity
and cultivating brand loyalty.
  OWN isn’t the E! Network.

  Oprah’s show, alone, will not sustain OWN.
  It can save it from disaster, but it’s unrealistic
to expect it to make the network truly
profitable in this highly competitive industry.
  However, initially, it will only take one other
show to give OWN the traction it needs to
build perpetual momentum.
  Programming will evolve and develop, but
the linchpin show is here.


  A reality show about rebuilding lives, the
most valuable commodity in the world.
  Triumph over tragedy and overcoming
adversity.
  Tom Wisenbaker is the catalyst for
miraculous progress with victims of stroke
and trauma-related injury.
  Tom Wisenbaker gives these people back
their humanity and in the process provides a
tangible example of what is possible, rather
than speculation of what could be.


  Tom is the world’s foremost expert in
progressive strength recovery and has
revolutionized rehabilitation for victims of
stroke and traumatic injury.
  Tom’s struggle with Macular Degeneration
and vision loss will be chronicled as a sub-
story.
  Tom’s wife Renee’s struggles with MS and
seizures as well.
  Their son, Josh and daughter, Kiki, work with
them at their clinic to bring the family
element to the show.

  Stroke of Genius, like a Russian Doll, has
numerous layers and depths to be explored,
developed and exploited.
  Real-life drama about physical, psychological and
emotional struggles…overcoming true adversity
of the grandest nature.
  There is real drama, excitement, enlightenment,
empowerment and entertainment…and it’s not
manufactured. It doesn’t have to be.
  This is the epitome of Substance…exactly what
OWN needs to rehabilitate its image and become
what it truly is, but to this point has failed to
manifest to its detriment.


  Get one show that delivers substance and
style will reveal itself.
  This will create and cultivate an entirely new
approach to programming, development and
recognition of trend setting shows…rather
than inferior “fad chasing” copies.
  Stroke Of Genius is the engine that will
power the “restartup” and will be the
catalyst for OWN’s metamorphosis from
cocoon to butterfly, rather than devolution
from wine to vinegar, which is the current
situation.

Oprah Winfrey Network Solutions by Jason Mathas

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Oprah Winfrey Network Solutions by Jason Mathas