Oprah Winfrey—businesswoman, philanthropist, actress and former TV host—will join CBS' 60 Minutes as a special contributor, the network announced Tuesday morning. The veteran interviewer will begin this fall, and, like other contributors, she won't appear on every episode of the Sunday news program.
"In its beginnings, 60 Minutes did hardcore investigative pieces, as well as features involving celebs or nonfamous people of note," says Les Rose, a professor at Syracuse University's Newhouse School and veteran photographer and field producer for CBS, adding that Winfrey will likely do the latter. "When there is a celebrity or sensitive situation, she will be the go to."
"I’ve been a big admirer of 60 Minutes since my days as a young reporter. I’m so excited and proud to join forces with this historic news program, which for me represents the bastion of journalistic storytelling," Winfrey said in a statement this morning. "At a time when people are so divided, my intention is to bring relevant insight and perspective, to look at what separates us, and help facilitate real conversations between people from different backgrounds.”
The gig likely won't do much for Winfrey's $2.9 billion fortune; while contract details have not been released, the weekly show won't pay anywhere near the multi-million dollar annual salary of her former daily talk show. Still, 60 Minutes will put Winfrey—who has since focused her attention on film through roles in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and A Wrinkle in Time—back on the small screen. The weekly program typically draws at least 10 million viewers, meaning Winfrey will get serious attention and further solidify her already stellar reputation as an inspirational and skilled interviewer.
"This has brought the Oprah brand up several notches," says Rose, noting the prestige of 60 Minutes as the original news magazine.
The "Oprah brand" has led Winfrey to her billions. From her eponymous TV show, she has amassed a huge following that tunes into her network and films--and buys her products.
"There is only one Oprah Winfrey,” said 60 Minutes Executive Producer Jeff Fager in a statement. "Her body of work is extraordinary, including thousands of interviews with people from all walks of life...I am thrilled that she will be bringing her unique and powerful voice to our broadcast."
While Winfrey has served as chairman and CEO of her own network (OWN) since 2011, her ties to CBS go back to 1999, when CBS acquired King World Productions, her show's distributor. Winfrey also serves as an executive producer of Dr. Phil, a CBS syndicated program, and her best friend and the editor of O, The Oprah Magazine, Gayle King anchors CBS This Morning.
CBS will benefit from having the superstar attached to one of its key properties: Winfrey's golden touch has not faded since her daily talk show ended in 2011. In October 2015, when Winfrey purchased a 10% stake in Weight Watchers International and came on as a spokesperson, the value of the company increased by $700 million in just two days, and the share price remains twice what it was before she came on.
So far, CBS stock has not been impacted but don't be surprised to see the ratings—and thus the price of a 60 Minute ad spot—go up when Winfrey begins appearing onscreen. Winfrey will be especially valuable to the network as Megyn Kelly begins hosting a competitive news show on NBC, which will begin airing in late 2017 or early 2018.
"We won’t see Oprah going to Iran or Guantanamo Bay," says Rose. "But she will be able to bring eyeballs to the show."
