By YOUNG MONEY Staff
12 April 2011

Oprah is not only one of the most successful media personalities of all time, she's also a skilled businesswoman and entrepreneur. If you want to advertise during the finale of her ultra-successful eponymous show in May, you better pony up money: Reports this week have said Oprah will charge up to $1 million for a 30-second commercial.

Bloomberg cites a memo from advertising company Horizon Media that states "The Oprah Winfrey Show" plans to charge the extraordinary amount during the program's May 25 series finale. If the rate is correct, it would signify the highest-ever price for a nonsports daytime broadcast, according to Horizon's director of research, Brad Adgate.

CBS Corp, which distributes the show, said the last weeks of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" would be must-watch television as the media titan ends the incredibly popular show. "The final episode of 'Oprah' - in fact the final weeks of 'Oprah' - will be a TV event," CBS spokeswoman Leslie Ryan affirmed in an email. Ryan also said that CBS will not comment on the $1 million asking price for commercial time.

Though the $1 million rate would serve as a record for a daytime television show, it still lags behind what other series finales charged for advertising time during primetime hours. A 30-second slot during the 2004 finale of NBC's "Friends" cost advertisers $2 million; the series finale of "Everybody Loves Raymond" in 2005 drew $1.22 million per commercial.

"Like the Super Bowl or the finales of 'Friends' or 'Frasier,' advertisers are always anxious to be part of event shows and the huge ratings they garner," Ryan asserted.