Cablevision Picks Up OWN

Things are continuing to look up for Oprah Winfrey just a few days shy of her network's launch. With agreements already in place covering more than eighty million homes in the United States, the Oprah Winfrey Network was poised to do business nearly everywhere, save one major market. Unfortunately, Cablevision, which covers much of the New York metropolitan area, did not carry Discovery Health. As that's the spot OWN is taking, Cablevision was not set to cover the new network, leaving some three and a half million without an opportunity to watch. Not so much anymore.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cablevision has finally reached an agreement with OWN to carry the station in both standard and high definition formats. The financials weren't disclosed, but as it's thought OWN is more interested in setting itself up for the future, it's pretty safe to assume the first few years likely come at a greatly reduced cost.

Only time will tell whether OWN will develop into a must have cable network along the lines of ESPN, Bravo and TNT or a random high numbered channel not worth memorizing.