Company Performance Metrics
Harpo Productions (also referred to as Harpo Studios) is a U.S. multimedia production company founded by Oprah Winfrey and based in West Hollywood, California. It is the sole subsidiary of her media and entertainment company Harpo, Inc. The name "Harpo" is "Oprah" spelled backward, and it was also the name of her on-screen
husband in The Color Purple.
Harpo Productions' subsidiaries consist of Harpo Print, the company's publishing house, and a minority interest in cable network Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) — in 2017, Discovery Communications purchased 24.5% of OWN for $70 million, leaving Harpo with 25.5% ownership. Harpo previously controlled 50% of OWN.
Past subsidiaries include Harpo Films, the company's film studio which shut down in early 2013, and Harpo Radio, the company's radio broadcasting division that shuttered on January 1, 2015. The company was previously based in Chicago, with Harpo Studios situated in the West Loop of the Near West Side neighborhood. The building was demolished in 2016, and new headquarters for McDonald's opened on the site in 2018.
