A Monday-morning Apple event at the Steve Jobs Theater in Cupertino has everyone talking today, and at the end of the event, Oprah Winfrey took the stage to announce her new partnership with the tech giant. Oprah is bringing her Book Club to Apple, along with two new docuseries, so now's your chance to be a part of "the most stimulating book club on the planet."
Oprah Winfrey's involvement with AppleTV+ stretches back to the summer of 2018, when Variety reported that Winfrey and Apple had "signed a multi-year content partnership." The former talk show host will continue to be involved with her cable and satellite channel, OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, which began broadcasting in 2011. Winfrey told her "Story Time" audience that she "joined [with Apple] in order to serve this moment" and reach a wider range of viewers, because "Apple... [is] in a billion pockets y'all, a billion pockets." According to CNN, Winfrey will produce "a documentary called Toxic Labor, about the impact of sexual harassment, and a multi-part series on mental health," exclusively for AppleTV+.
Of course, no partnership with Oprah Winfrey would be complete if it did not involve her trendsetting book club. Founded in 1996, Oprah's Book Club has boosted dozens of authors and their books into superstardom. There aren't many details regarding how the book club will merge with Apple. TechCrunch reports that "the Book Club... will be streamed on devices and to Apple Stores." O: The Oprah Magazine revealed that Winfrey will bring "her journalistic expertise... to Apple by interviewing artists, newsmakers, and leaders," so readers may soon have the chance to stream sit-downs with Winfrey and authors directly to their Apple devices.
Announced earlier this month, Apple's "Story Time" event offered new insights into the company's $1 billion media-streaming platform, AppleTV+, which will feature ad-free programming and will begin streaming this fall. Oprah Winfrey wasn't the only celebrity to show up to talk about a partnership with Apple. Live updates from TechCrunch showed guest appearances from a number of big names in entertainment media, including Jason Momoa, Alfre Woodard, Kumail Nanjiani, Sesame Street's Big Bird and Julia, JJ Abrams, and Sarah Bareilles.
Details may be scarce regarding Oprah Winfrey's new book club venture on Apple platforms, but that doesn't mean that readers can't dream about the titles and interviews they'd love to see from the media mogul. I'll be waiting to see what happens next.
