Oprah Network Dismisses CEO

Oprah Winfrey’s cable channel is experiencing a shakeup in the executive ranks. OWN Chief Executive Christina Norman has been shown the exit door, just five months after the network’s launch. The channel has been struggling to gain traction in the ratings realm and will now turn to Discovery Communications exec Peter Ligouri to help turn things around.

Ligouri will serve on an interim basis while continuing his role as Discovery’s COO. OWN launched on January 1st as a joint venture between Discovery and Winfrey’s production company. The shakeup comes just weeks before Oprah wraps her syndicated talk show on May 25th. She plans to devote more time to OWN once “The Oprah Winfrey Show” comes to an end. Discovery has also promised to invest more in OWN.