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Tom Steinert-Threlkeld

O? No

The Oprah Winfrey Network. What a great idea. It’ll be a barnburner. And maybe Discovery Communications’ second-best known and most-watched channel, in short order.

But I won’t watch it.

Why? Well, let’s see. I don’t listen to her on Xm satellite radio. I don’t read O magazine, even though it seems like there’s a copy in every room of my house. I won’t even watch the Show, itself.

I’m a man.

Look at the audience on the Show. By its own account, women outnumber men by 19:1.

In effect, Discovery CEO David Zaslav is betting that women alone will flock to the OWN and far overwhelm the male and female audience of the current Discovery Health channel, which it bumps out of existence.

The logic is pretty simple. Oprah is a brand name for mental, spiritual, physical and even financial health.

All the things Discovery Health is supposed to be, with a cult following.

If you like Oprah, you love Oprah. You read what she says she likes to read (the book club) and overhaul your underwear collection with her “52 uplifting solutions” (p. 186, O: The Oprah Magazine, February 2008).

But where will men go now for their mental, spiritual, physical and financial health advice?
Spike TV? ESPN? FBN? All of the above?

This much is for certain: not Dr. Phil. He can keep his diet plans, pills and other health advice to himself (and off the OWN, hopefully, even if Oprah did make him a star).

And don’t think I am campaigning for someone like Dr. Phil to create a similar health network just for men.

Truth be known, I didn’t watch Discovery Health in the first place.