Winfrey: 25 years of 'Oprah' feels right

CHICAGO, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- A tearful Oprah Winfrey Friday confirmed she will end her long-running television talk show in 2011, saying the time to quit "feels right."

"I have some news to share with you," Winfrey said at the beginning of Friday's live installment in Chicago, saving the actual announcement for the end of the show.

"After much prayer and months of careful thought, I've decided next season, Season 25, will be the last season of 'The Oprah Winfrey Show,'" she said, adding she was explaining her decision now to avert rampant speculation on the reasons behind the decision.

"I love this show. This show has been my life. And I love it enough to know when it is time to say goodbye.

"Twenty-five years feels right in my bones and feels right in my spirit. It is the exact right time."

Winfrey's syndicated show began its run Sept. 8, 1986. It reportedly will end Sept. 9, 2011.

The 55-year-old media mogul choked up Friday -- her last live show of the 2009 calendar year -- as she told the audience members they had "enriched my life beyond measure."

While she's set a wrap date for the series, she'll keep giving it her all until the cameras stop rolling, the Chicago Sun-Times quoted Tim Bennett, president of Winfrey's Harpo Productions Inc., as saying in a letter to show employees.

"If you think the last quarter-century has been something, then 'don't touch that dial,' as together we plan to make history in the next 20 months ... and beyond," Bennett said.

"We have the greatest respect for Oprah and wish her nothing but the best in her future endeavors," CBS Television Distribution, which syndicates her show, told the Chicago Tribune. "We know that anything she turns her hand to will be a great success. We look forward to working with her for the next several years, and hopefully afterward."

Winfrey reportedly is expected to focus on her forthcoming OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network after her show ends. OWN will debut in January 2011on what is now the Discovery Health Channel.

"There is no bigger brand in media than Oprah Winfrey," Discovery Communications President and Chief Executive Officer David Zaslav said in a statement. "She has changed the broadcast landscape and how people consume television. Along the way, she impacted our culture and touched us all. ... Discovery Communications has a tremendous partner in Oprah, and we look forward to bringing her and her creative vision, programming and unique voice to approximately 80 million homes on OWN, as well as online through the award-winning Oprah.com."