Oprah Winfrey made a surprise appearance at Discovery Communications’ upfront presentation to advertisers and media buyers in Chicago Thursday afternoon.
Ms. Winfrey came out on-stage near the end of a presentation by Christina Norman, the former MTV president who now is CEO of OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, a joint venture between Ms. Winfrey and Discovery.
Ms. Winfrey said she was excited and proud of the programming plans being developed for the network, which is expected to launch early next year.
After appearing on stage, Ms. Winfrey took a seat in the audience as Ms. Norman finished her presentation.
Ms. Winfrey hadn’t been expected to attend, even though Chicago is where she does her syndicated show. She is not expected to appear next week in New York, when Discovery makes its upfront presentation to Madison Avenue.