OWN: THE OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK Announces Advertising Partnership With Leading Retailer Kohl's Department Stores for the Original Series 'Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search for the Next TV Star'

LOS ANGELES, May 14 /PRNewswire/ -- OWN: THE OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK has struck an advertising partnership with leading retailer Kohl's Department Stores for the original series "Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search For The Next TV Star."  OWN's new competition series, presented by Kohl's and executive produced by Mark Burnett ("Survivor," "The Apprentice"), is a nationwide search to discover television's next big star.  The winner of the competition will be awarded his or her own studio talk show for the OWN network.  Online auditions to participate in the series begin May 14 at Oprah.com, as announced today on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

"Kohl's is the perfect partner for OWN and 'Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search For The Next TV Star,'" said Kathleen Kayse, executive vice president, sales, OWN. "We're really looking for strategic partnerships that bring something special to our audience and Kohl's can do that."

"We are incredibly excited to partner with OWN for this debut television series, 'Your OWN Show:  Oprah's Search For The Next TV Star,'" said Julie Gardner, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Kohl's Department Stores.  "This multi-faceted integration will span across several mediums and is designed to reach our shared consumer in a way that is fresh, fun and relevant."

The partnership with Kohl's will include a "Presenting Sponsorship" position for Kohl's for "Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search For The Next TV Star," paid media, integrations, online and on-air exposure, tagged tune-ins and publicity.  Unique to the partnership, a series of short, co-branded vignettes, specially created for the series, will air both within and outside of  "Your OWN Show: Oprah's Search For The Next TV Star."

To audition online, May 14 to June 26, contestants (who must be 21 to participate) can make a three-minute audition video and upload it to Oprah.com.  A user-friendly editing toolkit, as well as tips and techniques from celebrities will.i.am, Lisa Ling and Peter Walsh, will help contestants enhance their audition video.   Online submissions will be voted on by the public and the five individuals who get the most online votes will be flown to Los Angeles to audition for Mark Burnett Productions. Audience voting takes place at Oprah.com where the public can watch contestants' videos and vote for their favorite.  

To audition in person, open casting calls (not part of the online voting process) will be held at four select Kohl's Department Stores in the following cities:

For all details about auditioning for "Your OWN Show:  Oprah's Search For The Next TV Star," please visit: www.Oprah.com.

About OWN: THE OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK

A joint venture between Harpo, Inc. and Discovery Communications, LLC, OWN: THE OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK is a multi-platform media company designed to entertain, inform, and inspire people to live their best lives. OWN will debut on January 1, 2011 in approximately 80 million homes, on what is currently the Discovery Health Channel. The venture also will include the award-winning digital platform, Oprah.com.  For more information, please visit www.oprah.com/own.

About Kohl's Department Stores

Based in Menomonee Falls, Wis., Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) is a family-focused, value-oriented specialty department store offering moderately priced, exclusive and national brand apparel, shoes, accessories, beauty and home products in an exciting shopping environment. Kohl's operates its 1,067 stores in 49 states with a commitment to environmental leadership.  In support of the communities it serves, Kohl's has raised more than $150 million for children's initiatives nationwide through its Kohl's Cares for Kids® philanthropic program, which operates under Kohl's Cares, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kohl's Department Stores, Inc. For a list of store locations and information, or for the added convenience of shopping online, visit www.kohls.com.

SOURCE OWN: THE OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK