Entertainment

Oprah faces pay cut

Oprah Winfrey will face a pay cut if she decides to continue doing “Oprah.”

Both Winfrey’s deal with local stations and her CBS TV Distribution deal expire in fall 2011.

And, according to Variety, local stations won’t be willing to pay as much for the right to air her show, which is showing signs of age.

“Stations have made it clear to [Winfrey’s production company] Harpo that if she does come back, they’ll significantly reduce the license fees they pay,” one exec tells Variety.

“Station revenues are down 40 percent to 50 percent, but they’re paying license fees projected on revenue remaining the same.

“Plus, her ratings are going down. She’s still the queen, but that’s an enormous problem.”

A case in point is “Dr. Phil,” which was recently renewed through 2014 but at reportedly lower license fees.

Winfrey is famous for waiting until the 11th hour to decide on a new contract, and hasn’t yet indicated if she’ll continue with “Oprah” once her deal expires — saying she’s waiting until year’s end to decide.

But if she does choose to continue, TV’s top daytime earner will be taking home less scratch.

Winfrey is scheduled to launch her cable network, OWN, next year, and could quit “Oprah” to focus her TV efforts on her new endeavor.

“She could go to cable and maybe not do the show at all, just do reruns and specials,” another exec tells Variety.

“But . . . the ratings and her pulpit would be much less.”