The Oprah Winfrey Show: How Oprah Knew It Was Time to End Her Talk Show

Via Deposit Files

The Oprah Winfrey Show ended six years ago after 25 years on the air, and Oprah revealed why she ended the series. She didn’t want to outstay her welcome.

She said the following about ending her talk show in an interview with Vogue:

“I started thinking about the times: where we were, would I be able to take it digital. People were moving into ‘I want to be able to watch it when I want to watch it,’ and the four o’clock hour was no longer must-see television. I could feel that happening with the audience. Their behaviors were shifting, and the media world was changing. I had written something in my journals years before: ‘I never want to stay too long in the ring so I end up punch-drunk.’ I didn’t want people saying, ‘She shoulda quit that show three years ago!’ I started reading this incredible article about Michael Jackson, and one of Jackson’s friends was quoted as saying, ‘His number-one problem is that he never realized that Thriller was a phenomenon. And he spent the rest of his life trying to chase it.’ And so, when Bad only sold—only sold—20 million albums early on, he was disappointed because it wasn’t Thriller. He thought he was going to top Thriller. I went, Whoa. Pay attention to that. I didn’t want to be the person chasing a phenomenon. And that is what the Oprah show was. All the right elements came together at the right time. That won’t happen again. People would ask me, ‘Who will be the next Oprah?’ And the answer is: ‘There won’t be.’”

Oprah is now behind OWN with original programming and more. Did Oprah end The Oprah Winfrey Show at the right time? Tell us what you think.