Oprah decides to end show ‘after much prayer’ Tearful talk-show host thanks viewers for inviting her into their homes

CHICAGO - Holding back tears, Oprah Winfrey told her studio audience Friday that she would end her show in 2011 after a quarter-century on the air, saying prayer and careful thought led her to her decision.

Winfrey told the audience that she loved “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” that it had been her life and that she knew when it was time to say goodbye. “Twenty-five years feels right in my bones and feels right in my spirit,” she said.

Winfrey talked about being nervous when the program began in 1986 and thanked audiences who had invited her into their homes and lives over the past two decades.

“I certainly never could have imagined the yellow brick road of blessings that have led me to this moment,” she said.

The powerhouse show became the foundation for her multibillion-dollar media empire, but in the last year, has seen its ratings slip 7 percent. Winfrey, 55, is widely expected to start up a new talk show on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a much-delayed 50-50 joint venture with Discovery Communications Inc. that is projected to debut in January 2011. OWN is to replace the Discovery Health Channel and will debut in some 80 million homes.

Winfrey offered no specifics about her plans for the future, except to say that she intended to produce the best possible shows during her last 18 months on the air.

“Over this holiday break, my team and I will be brainstorming new ways that we can entertain you and inform you and uplift you when we return here in January,” she said. “And then, season 25 — we are going to knock your socks off.”

From film star to media mogul, Oprah Winfrey has built an empire and secured a legion of devoted fans.

CBS Television Distribution, which distributes the show to more than 200 U.S. markets, held out hope it could continue doing business with Winfrey, perhaps producing a new show out of its studios in Los Angeles.

“We know that anything she turns her hand to will be a great success,” the CBS Corp. unit said in a statement. “We look forward to working with her for the next several years, and hopefully afterwards as well.”

Many fans heading into Harpo Studios on Friday morning seemed to support Winfrey’s decision.

“It’s time to elevate to something new,” said Sandra Donaldson, 59, of Indianapolis. “Whatever she does is going to be a blessing. It’s going to be rewarding and eye-opening. Her name alone opens doors.”

Once a local Chicago morning program, the production evolved into television’s top-rated talk show for more than two decades, airing in 145 countries worldwide and watched by an estimated 42 million viewers a week in the U.S. alone.

Audience members described the atmosphere inside the studio Friday as tense and emotional, with some reaching for tissues as Winfrey announced her decision. But amid the sadness, there also was understanding among the crowd, Donaldson said afterward.

“When I looked around, there was a peace there, because I like to think everybody was happy for her decision to move on,” she said.

Fans expressed hope that Winfrey would soon announce another project.

“Oprah, she impacts everybody, her life, the way she gives,” said Shawana Fletcher, 29, of Chicago. “I hope she’s not totally done. That’s what we’re praying.”

Winfrey’s 24th season opened this year with a bang, as she drew more than 20,000 fans to Chicago’s Magnificent Mile for a block party with the Black Eyed Peas. She followed with a series of blockbuster interviews — Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, Whitney Houston and ESPN’s Erin Andrews, and just this week, former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Oprah Winfrey

What we learned: Pacquiao-Cotto

1. Manny Pacquiao cemented his legacy as one of history's greatest fighters.

With the 50th and perhaps most difficult victory of his career, Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao has chiseled his name alongside all-time pound-for-pound greats like Willie Pep, Henry Armstrong and Sugar Ray Robinson. With Saturday's 12th-round TKO of Miguel Cotto, Pacquiao captured the WBO welterweight title and became the first fighter to collect world championships in seven different weight classes between 112 to 147 pounds -- an incredible and unprecedented feat for a one-time flyweight who turned pro at a wraith-like 106 pounds.

2. The record books will read TKO 12, but Pacquiao ended this one back in the fourth.

Cotto was game early, controlling distance with the left jab and keeping Pacquiao from getting inside. It was clear the Filipino respected Cotto's punching power. Pacquiao looked more comfortable in the second round, circling the ring and penetrating Cotto's defense with straight lefts and rights. Midway through the second, Cotto lost the plot and starting trading. Pacquiao dropped Cotto in the third with a left to the body and a right hook upstairs -- and again in the fourth with a right hook and a vicious left to the jaw. Cotto was never the same again. He spent the next seven-and-a-half rounds just trying to get to the finish line -- ostensibly trying to counter-punch and box but, in reality, hovering like a fly waiting for the windshield on the freeway.

3. Pacquiao can absorb the punch of a true welterweight.

The stage for Saturday's history-making showdown was set over the past year-and-a-half with Pacquiao's three-pack of victories over David Diaz, Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton. Each fight taught us something about the Filipino southpaw. The ninth-round knockout of Diaz revealed that Pacquiao could pick apart a larger fighter of limited ability. The ninth-round stoppage of De La Hoya taught us Pacquiao could dismantle a fighter at 147 pounds, albeit one way past his prime. The second-round starching of Hatton demonstrated what Pacquiao could do against opponents of anything but the highest caliber. Saturday's stoppage of Cotto provided an emphatic answer to the biggest question looming over Pacquiao's camp in the months leading up to it: could the Filipino stand in and exchange against a true welterweight. He could. Pacquiao took more punches than we'd seen him take against Diaz, De La Hoya or Hatton -- but was never hurt. Once self-doubt crept in and Cotto got tentative, moving backwards and releasing the pressure from Pacquiao, it was over. The Filipino's ring generalship never wavered. He was too fast, too sharp, too busy for Cotto and the result was deserved.

4. No one can doubt Cotto's courage.

You've got to give Cotto credit. A modern-day Boricua folk hero in the mold of Carlos Ortiz, Wilfred Benitez and Felix Trinidad, Cotto would sooner leave the ring on his shield than quit. His face resembled tomato pie for the second half of the fight, with blood flowing from his nose and wounds, yet he persevered. Cotto's corner man Joe Santiago, a 30-year-old greenhorn, never considered stopping it; you wonder if a more experienced trainer might have thrown in the towel several rounds earlier, once it became obvious Cotto had no chance to win. When referee Kenny Bayless stopped the action 55 seconds into the final round, it was clear this was a career-defining fight for both men. Many wondered if Antonio Margarito took something from Cotto in that dubious July 2008 stoppage that Cotto would never be able to get back. That question may have been answered Saturday in Las Vegas.

5. The countdown for Pacquiao-Mayweather is under way.

Now Pacquiao can turn his attention to his personal Everest: Floyd Mayweather Jr. The specter of a megafight between Pacquiao and Mayweather hung over the Cotto fight from the day it was announced. The millions who followed live blogs and watched on pirated Internet streams, unwilling to drop $54.95 on Saturday's fight in a recession, would happily pay that sum to see the sport's finest two pound-for-pound fighters meet in a superfight that would set the bar high for the decade soon to be known as the 2010s. Yes, they'll squabble over the money split and Pacquiao was non-committal in the post-fight interview -- but trainer Freddie Roach considers it an inevitability. "I honestly think it has to happen because boxing needs that fight," Roach told SI.com. "The best need to fight the best."
Pacquiao-Cotto Fight, Boxing

PACQUIAO-COTTO: MOST EXCITING FIGHT IN 40 YEARS

After announcing their fight at an international public press conference in Yankee Stadium in New York today, Pacquiao and Cotto will proceed on the remainder of the five-city coast-to-coast, two-ocean media tour which will take them to Caguas, Puerto Rico, AT&T Park in San Francisco, Beverly Hills, California, and PETCO Park in San Diego.

"I will train harder than I have ever trained before because Miguel Cotto will be my toughest test as a professional fighter," said Pacquiao. "I know Miguel Cotto is an excellent fighter and a great world champion.

"He is strong and smart and that is a dangerous combination for anyone who challenges him. But like every fight, I will not enter the ring alone. My countrymen don't just give me their support. They also give me their strength, their pride and their love. That is why I must give my all. I fight to win and to give honor to the Philippines."

"He has fought a lot of tough fighters but never one like me," said Cotto. "The world will know who the best is when we meet in the ring"

"This fight will be the most exciting and memorable event that Top Rank has promoted in 40 years. I am certain it will take its place as an exciting and action-packed classic such as Hagler vs. Hearns and Ali vs. Frazier III. On November 14, Pacquiao vs. Cotto will join that list of boxing classics."

"This is a superior matchup between two of the best fighters in the world," said Ross Greenburg, President, HBO Sports. "Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto are two unique personalities, and because of that, we are looking forward to presenting another installment of our popular '24/7' series."

Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs), of General Santos City, Philippines, has won six world titles in as many different weight divisions ranging from 112 to 140 pounds. His performance in 2008 was described as "Henry Armstrongesque," winning world titles at 130 and 135 pounds with victories over Juan Manuel Marquez and David Diaz, respectively, and knocking out and retiring Oscar De La Hoya at 147 pounds to finish the trifecta. This year, he picked up where he left off last year – winning another world title in a new weight division -- dealing defending junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton a one-punch second-round knockout on May 2.

Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs), from Caguas, Puerto Rico, has sold more tickets to Madison Square Garden in this millennium than any other fighter. He has held a world title every year since 2004. Puerto Rico's most exciting fighter, Cotto held the WBO junior welterweight crown from 2004-2006, successfully defending it six times before vacating it to capture the World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight title at the end of 2006, a title he held for nearly as long. He won his second welterweight title in February this year, knocking out Michael Jennings in the fifth round at Madison Square Garden to become the WBO welterweight champion. Notable scalps on Cotto's belt include Sugar Shane Mosley, Zab Judah, Joshua Clottey, Paulie Malignaggi, and Demarcus Corley.

The Pacquiao vs. Cotto pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $54.95, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and will be available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View®, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For Pacquiao vs. Cotto fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com or www.toprank.com.

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Boxing's No. 1 pound-for-pound king and the reigning Fighter of the Year, MANNY "PacMan" PACQUIAO, and the pride of Puerto Rico and three-time world champion, MIGUEL COTTO, will be loaded for bear when they rumble in the mega-event of the year – FIRE POWER: PACQUIAO vs. COTTO – for Cotto's World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight title and the first-ever World Boxing Council (WBC) Diamond Belt. Promoted by Top Rank, in association with MGM Grand and Tecate, FIRE POWER: PACQUIAO vs. COTTO will take place Saturday, November 14 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nev., and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.

Pacquiao and Cotto boast nine world titles in seven different weight divisions between them and a combined professional record of 83-4-2 (64 KOs) – a winning percentage of 93% and a victory by knockout ratio of 77%.

Remaining tickets are priced at $1,000, $750, $500, $300 and $150, not including applicable service charges. Ticket sales at $1,000, $750, $500 and $300 are limited to 10 per person and ticket sales at $150 are limited to two (2) per person, with a total ticket limit of 12 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.