Rosie O’Donnell Show Cancelled By OWN

“The Rosie Show” on OWN, the cable network owned by Oprah Winfrey, is being canceled. The network released in a statement Friday night that Rosie O’Donnell’s show will tape its final episode on Tuesday after only five months due to inability to attract viewers.

“The Rosie Show,” originally pitched to replace Oprah’s own show on the network, had its premiere on Oct. 10 and drew less than 500,000 viewers. In a statement Friday night, Rosie acknowledged the lack of interest, adding:

“It was a great year for me — I wish the show was able to attract more viewers — but it did not. So I am headed back to my home in New York — with gratitude. On we go!”

According to The Chicago Tribune “The Rosie Show” was originally under contract until 2013. Oprah, the chief executive of OWN, thanked O’Donnell for “working to deliver the best possible show every single day.”

“As I have learned in the last 15 months, a new network launch is always a challenge and ratings grow over time as you continue to gather an audience,” Winfrey said. “I’m grateful to Rosie and the dedicated ‘Rosie Show’ team for giving it their all.”

Winfrey had earlier published a message to Twitter that encouraged people counted in Nielsen ratings to watch her cable channel, “Every 1 who can please turn to OWN especially if u have a Neilsen box.” She later made a public apology for trying to influence ratings. “I removed the tweet at the request of Nielsen,” she said in a statement to The New York Times. “I intended no harm and apologize for the reference.”

Do you think ‘The Rosie Show’ could have pulled out of it or was it best to just let this one go?