Oprah Winfrey to sell Harpo Studios

Harpo Studios, the Chicago studio where The Oprah Winfrey Show was filmed at from 1990 to 2011, will be sold for a reported $US32 million.

Harpo Studios in Chicago

Oprah Winfrey is reportedly selling Harpo Studios in Chicago to a developer for $A35.57 million. (AAP)

Oprah Winfrey is selling Harpo Studios in Chicago to a developer, but the studio will remain on the property for another two years.

Winfrey filmed The Oprah Winfrey Show at the studio from 1990 to 2011, when she ended the talk show to start the Oprah Winfrey Network on cable.

"We have entered into a purchasing agreement with Sterling Bay for the four-building Harpo Studios campus in Chicago's West Loop," Harpo told Crain's Chicago Business in a statement.

"We expect the transaction to be closed in 30 days. The property will be leased back to Harpo for two years and the studio will continue to produce programming for OWN."

About 200 people work at the 3.5-acre campus, which will sell for about $US32 million ($A35.57 million), Crain's reported on Sunday. Harpo said it expects to close the transaction in 30 days.

Winfrey first came to Chicago in 1984 to WLS-TV's morning talk show, A.M. Chicago. A month later, the show was No. 1 in the market and renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show in 1985.

Winfrey moved to Harpo Studios in 1990 and is credited with transforming the once-gritty industrial area to a neighbourhood filled with families and trendy restaurants.

In 2011, then-Chicago Mayor Richard Daley named the street outside Harpo Studios Oprah Winfrey Way.


Share

2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world