Tyler Perry. I heard that OWNs target audience initially, were white middle aged women. But Oprah got a rude awakening when the ratings came back. Nobody was tuning in, every show was flopping except for one; "Welcome to Sweetie Pies". A reality t.v. show that detailed the happenings of a black owned restaurant chain.
And guess who was watching? Blacks. The same audience she spurned was keeping OWN from being a complete utter failure. She then knew what she had to do. She rang Perry up and begged him to save her with his c00n-tastic shows. The rest is history.