Business, News, Press Releases - Thursday, November 5, 2009 9:30 - 2 Comments

Lisa Erspamer Named Chief Creative Officer of OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network

Lisa Erspamer has been named Chief Creative Officer of OWN: THE OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK, it was announced today by Christina Norman, Chief Executive Officer.

Erspamer joins OWN as a 15-year veteran of Harpo Productions, Inc. where she has served as co-executive producer of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” since 2006.

She will report to Ms. Norman and will assume her new post in January 2010. Ms. Erspamer will be based at the company’s Los Angeles headquarters.

In her position, Ms. Erspamer will partner with the senior team to create, shape and drive programming and ensure Oprah’s unique editorial voice across all platforms.

“Lisa has been a creative superstar. She’s brought fire and force to many of the incredible shows we’ve done over the years. I value her passion and sensibilities and trust her instincts and judgment. I know she’ll be a great fit with the OWN team,” said Oprah Winfrey, Chairman of OWN.

“This is an injection of Oprah’s DNA into OWN,” said Ms. Norman. “Lisa’s years of experience in crafting content for the ‘Oprah’ show will be invaluable to us as we build this new multi-platform media venture.”

“What we’ve created with the ‘Oprah’ show only gets better when it’s 24/7. I’m thrilled to have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help bring Oprah’s vision for the network to life,” said Ms. Erspamer.

A veteran of Harpo Productions for more than 15 years, Ms. Erspamer was named co-executive producer in 2006, helping lead the most successful team in daytime television.

During her tenure, Ms. Erspamer has produced hundreds of shows and has overseen memorable episodes including this season’s kickoff party “flash mob” dance in the streets of Chicago and two-part Whitney Houston interview, as well as the legendary car giveaway, among many others.

Ms. Erspamer first joined Harpo Productions in 1994 as associate producer and has held positions with increasing levels of responsibility including producer and supervising producer.

About OWN: THE OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK

A joint venture between Oprah Winfrey and Discovery Communications, OWN: THE OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK is a multi-platform media company designed to entertain, inform, and inspire people to live their best lives.

OWN will debut in more than 70 million homes, on what is currently the Discovery Health Channel.

The venture also will include the award-winning digital platform Oprah.com.