Oprah used to announce she 'll end show in 2011 during a live show Friday . It has been the highest - rated talk show for 23 consecutive seasons , her Web site says . An estimated 42 million U.S. viewers watch it weekly ; show had its origins in 1979 in Chicago . Within a year , it had expanded to an hour-long format and been renamed `` The Oprah Winfrey Show . '' Winfrey 's fortune was estimated at around $ 1 billion by Forbes in 2004 .
Oprah used to announce she 'll end show in 2011 during a live show Friday . It has been the highest - rated talk show for 23 consecutive seasons , her Web site says . An estimated 42 million U.S. viewers watch it weekly ; show had its origins in 1979 in Chicago . Winfrey 's fortune was estimated at around $ 1 billion by Forbes in 2004 .