• Variety, Wednesday, December 17, 2008 9:15 AM

Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Films has entered into an exclusive pact with HBO to develop and produce scripted series, documentaries and other programs for the cable channel.

The deal comes at the end of Harpo's exclusive two-year contract with ABC, which resulted in only one program: "Mitch Albom's For One More Day." "There are natural limitations to being on network TV, including ratings and commercial sponsorship," says Harpo president Kate Forte.

Winfrey is also readying the launch of the Oprah Winfrey Network, a cable channel she co-owns with Discovery Networks. Forte said OWN's strategy of nonscripted programming is "totally separate" from the HBO deal for scripted programming.

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