Discovery's networks division and Harpo Productions, conceptualized largely by popular talk show host, Oprah Winfrey.

The network is spearheaded by television personality and namesake Oprah Winfrey and features entertainment, self-help and lifestyle specials aimed at not only African American audiences but female viewers, in general.

OWN competes with other networks aimed at African Americans such as the BET Media Group’s namesake channel and the E. W. Scripps Company’s Bounce TV.

[2][3] Winfrey would serve as the chairwoman of the channel, which was expected to deal in factual programming oriented towards her personal philosophy of "living your best life"; this would include topics such as health, love, parenting, and spirituality.

Harpo Productions denied the report, stating that Winfrey "has not made a final decision as to whether she will continue her show in syndication beyond [2011]".

[2] In November 2009, Lisa Erspamer—a Harpo executive who had been a co-executive producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show since 2006—was named chief creative officer of OWN.

[14] The October 2011 premiere of Welcome to Sweetie Pie's brought notable gains to the fledgling channel: it was the network's highest-rated series to date, and boosted OWN's average primetime viewership to 216,000.

The show was especially popular among African American audiences, which prompted OWN's executives to factor this demographic into its programming decisions and advertising sales going forward.

[17] In January 2012, an attempt was made to retool the program by hiring Shane Farley (producer of the syndicated Rosie O'Donnell Show), and giving it a smaller, more intimate studio.

[5] On January 26, 2012, Lisa Erspamer resigned from OWN; she was replaced in the interim by veteran Discovery executive and former TLC vice president Rita Mullin.

It attracted critical acclaim and a large audience; its two-night premiere event was seen by 1.1 and 1.6 million total viewers respectively.

[27] That month, OWN also announced a planned expansion into scripted programming by means of an exclusive, multi-year development deal with Tyler Perry—a long-time friend of Winfrey.

Jason Russell had brought up the condition during an interview they were filming, which made Winfrey realize she was experiencing similar symptoms.

[10] In May 2016, Sheri Salata stepped down as co-president to launch a new "brand innovation" agency (although Winfrey and OWN were expected to be among her first clients).

[39] In July 2018, Winfrey signed a non-exclusive, multi-platform content deal with Apple Inc.; it is not expected to affect her role at OWN.

[40] Wired considered OWN to have had a "major stake" in the push towards more diverse portrayals of African Americans in television, while Iyanla Vanzant argued that OWN had been "celebrating the unseen" among African Americans with shows that "give the minds of the viewers a different interpretation than the one that's often put out in the world.

"[26] In October 2018, network president Erik Logan announced that he would step down at the end of the year to pursue a job as head of content for the World Surf League.

The special featured appearances by politicians such as Stacey Abrams and Mayor of Atlanta Keisha Lance Bottoms, and other journalists and personalities.

[45] As of March 2014, the network's programming primarily consists of marathons, with eight-hour daytime blocks airing multiple episodes of the same series, usually a different show each day.

[51][52] This was followed in July by Greenleaf—a new drama from Craig Wright with Winfrey as an executive producer, that follows the eponymous family's predominantly-African American megachurch in Memphis, Tennessee.

[53][54][55] In July 2017, Queen Sugar was renewed for a third season, and Harpo Films signed DuVernay to a first-look television and digital media deal.

[56] In August 2017, OWN also ordered Tarell Alvin McCraney's David Makes Man, a coming-of-age drama set in South Florida.

[61] Instead, Corus Entertainment agreed to launch a Canadian version of OWN—its existing channel Viva was re-launched as OWN on March 1, 2011.