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Oprah Winfrey, arguably the most powerful woman in entertainment (if not the world in general), is preparing to pack her luxurious bags. She's announced that in 2011, after a quarter-century of favorite things and heartfelt interviews, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will be no more. The last program is scheduled for Sept. 9, 2011. One can only imagine who might be her guests.

In syndication across the country, Oprah's eponymous program is the top-rated U.S. daytime show (take that, Days of Our Lives!), with an average viewership of 7.1 million this year.

While not entirely unexpected, the news is likely a bit of a blow to CBS Corporation (CBS), as its CBS Television Distribution arm syndicates the program. Additionally, Walt Disney (DIS) might feel the sting of an Oprah departure as Disney-owned ABC is the primary network that airs the show. And will it impact O, Oprah's monthly magazine published by the Heart Corporation? To say nothing of all of the manic women in the audience who long for a chance at one of Oprah's favorite things.

Yet, when I look at the latest earnings report, I don't feel as upbeat as the market. According to the press release (the link goes to a .pdf file), revenues were flat for the third quarter and adjusted income dropped to 25 cents per share from the year-ago figure of 39 cents per share.

Well, I still feel this is a risky move, but I do have to say that an article by Scott Collins over at the Los Angeles Times has piqued my interest in the expected economical benefit that Leno-at-10 might imply. Leno might not bring in a ton of eyeballs, but his profit margin could be acceptable given the lower capital necessary to fund his extravaganza.

Wondering where to put your money in the race for entertainment eyeballs? Before you buy into the hoopla surrounding video via smart phone, check out the latest Nielsen Three Screen Report. Couch surfing remains a strong American favorite.

The amount of time we spend watching TV at home actually increased by 2 hours and 2 minutes per month in the second quarter of 2009 over a year ago, up to 141+ hours, or 4.7 hours per day. Time-shifting (Tivoing) those TV selections is growing in popularity very quickly, up almost 20% in the same one-year period.

There's some exciting news in the world of World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE). Looks like Vince McMahon wants to expand his media empire via entering the world of basic cable. Yes, he's already on basic cable, of course, but now he's intent on literally creating his very own wrestling channel.

According to a blog at the Los Angeles Times website, McMahon would be interested in launching a dedicated WWE channel within two years. This makes complete sense on several levels. First, WWE has a lot of content in its library that needs to be monetized; WWE's existing video-on-demand product already leverages the company's portfolio, but exposure to ad-supported cable would be helpful. Second, it could boost the profile of the WWE brand. Third, it might help long-term growth; without question, WWE needs to do something to compensate for the falloff it is seen in pay-per-view buys.

That wasn't a big deal, though. The free cash covered both the dividend and the monies used to repurchase shares. In fact, Reuters reported that the buyback activity in the quarter represented a resumption of the program. We can take that as a positive sign of confidence from management.

CBS (NYSE: CBS), the famous broadcaster that competes with Disney's (NYSE: DIS) ABC, News Corp.'s (NASDAQ: NWS) Fox, and General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC, reported Q2 earnings on Thursday after the bell. If you judged the performance solely by the profit drop, you would have no choice but to feel sorry for CBS. The media company made an adjusted 8 cents per share. Last year at this time, CBS pulled in an adjusted 49 cents per share.

But the market looked past the significant income decline and instead seemed to focus on the fact that management beat Wall Street's expectations by a penny, according to Earnings.com estimates. Shares of CBS were up over 7% during yesterday's after-hours session.

World Wrestling Entertainment (NYSE: WWE) definitely needs to increase the buy rates for its pay-per-view products. According to an article at Multichannel News, WWE wants to improve on the quality of its marketing and branding efforts by getting a little creative.

WWE management will utilize video-on-demand platforms to replay old content associated with branded events such as SummerSlam to enhance buy rates, as well as offering free souvenirs, depending on certain pay-per-view purchases. To me, the most interesting thing mentioned in the article by far is changing the title of an event.

Disney (NYSE: DIS) programmed a new movie recently on one of its prime media assets. The film, titled Princess Protection Program, debuted on the Disney Channel and stars a young actress named Selena Gomez. The casting choice was no accident. Because Disney tries to be as synergistic as possible (the company is generally good when it comes to the science of synergy, although there are certainly opportunities for it to be even better), the Mouse made sure to use Gomez since she is the popular star of another Disney Channel program called Wizards of Waverly Place, a project meant to capture at least a little of the Harry Potter magic.

Well, as Boorstin rightly points out, CBS (NYSE: CBS), Disney's (NYSE: DIS) ABC, General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC, and News Corp.'s (NASDAQ: NWS) Fox do need to worry. These DVR technologies basically translate to a drop in the economic value of advertising. Let's face it: who watches commercials when they don't have to?