| The current sign in front of Oprah Winfrey's Chicago based Harpo Studios | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media |
| Founded | 1986 (Chicago, Illinois) |
| Founder(s) | Oprah Winfrey |
| Key people | Oprah Winfrey (Chairwoman/CEO) Erik Logan (Co-President) Sheri Salata (Co-President) Douglas J. Pattison (CFO) |
| Products | The Oprah Winfrey Show Dr. Phil Rachael Ray The Dr. Oz Show Oprah & Friends Oprah.com O, The Oprah Magazine The Nate Berkus Show O at Home The Rosie Show |
| Employees | 410 (2009) |
| Parent | Harpo Entertainment Group |
Harpo Productions, Inc. is an incorporated US-based multimedia production company founded by Oprah Winfrey (the name 'Harpo' is 'Oprah' spelled backwards, and was the name of her on-screen husband in The Color Purple). It also includes Harpo Films (the company's film production company) & Harpo Radio, Inc. (the company's radio division). It is based in Chicago, and Harpo Studios (the company's TV production studio) is located in the Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago.
The land where the studio now sits once housed the 2nd Regiment Armory that was used as a makeshift morgue for victims of the capsizing of the steamer SS Eastland.[1] The 88,000-square-foot (8,200 m2) facility was renovated and opened in the late 1980s for use by The Oprah Winfrey Show.[2]
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Harpo Films, Inc. is the biggest division of Harpo Productions, Inc. It is an active supplier of motion pictures, developing and producing award-winning features and long-form television programs, including the "Oprah Winfrey Presents" telefilms for the ABC television network. Harpo Films is based in Los Angeles, California.
In late 2008, Harpo Films signed an exclusive output pact with HBO.[3] Previously, Harpo films had a deal with ABC, which included production of Oprah Winfrey Presents: Mitch Albom's For One More Day.[3]
Harpo Radio, Inc. is the holding company for the Oprah & Friends channel (156 on XM Satellite Radio\DirecTV Channel 807). Oprah & Friends features a broad range of daily and weekly programming on a variety of topics including self improvement, nutrition, fitness, parenting, health, home, finance and current events hosted by personalities from The Oprah Winfrey Show and O, The Oprah Magazine.
Regular presenters includes specialists from a variety of fields, including Dr. Maya Angelou, Dr. Robin Smith, Marianne Williamson, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Bob Greene, Nate Berkus, Jean Chatzky, Gayle King, Rabbi Shumley Boteach, Holly Robinson Peete and Rodney Peete, and Michael Losier. Oprah, herself, also personally interviews some of the most influential voices in the spiritual realm on her weekly program, Oprah's Soul Series.
Harpo Radio, Inc. produces and broadcasts the Oprah & Friends channel from an XM studio in Chicago, Illinois, from New York, New York.
Together with Hearst Magazines, Harpo Print LLC publishes O, the Oprah Magazine.[4] The company also published O at Home, which Hearst officially folded in 2008 after a four-year run.[5]
Harpo Studios was the home to The Oprah Winfrey Show located in Near West Side neighborhood of Chicago. The set now houses The Rosie Show, an American evening television talk show hosted and produced by actress and comedienne Rosie O'Donnell, airing on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Harpo Studios has Emmy Award-winning teams in production designs, lighting, camera work, editing, audio direction and graphic design. It also served as the location for the set of The Women of Brewster Place. Scenes from Beloved were also filmed on a set in Harpo Studios.
On January 1, 2011, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network launched. It is partially owned by Harpo Studios (50%) and Discovery Communications, Inc (50%). The network replaced the Discovery Health Channel, a cable channel previously owned by Discovery Communications, Inc. The network boasts a variety of new shows, including some hosted by the stable of experts Winfrey has cultivated on her daytime talk show including: The Gayle King Show, Our America with Lisa Ling, In The Bedroom with Dr. Laura Berman and Enough Already! with Peter Walsh.