Dr. Oz just keeps taking hits, or at least it seems that way. His ‘radio minute’ segment, “The Daily Does with Dr. Oz” that was produced by Oprah’s Harpo Productions company will no longer be syndicated by the company Westwood One.
His segment, which airs on 150 stations nationwide, will end its run on May 29. At that point, the show will move over to join iHeartRadio, according to New York Daily News.
Westwood One apparently plans to replace the segment with “A Better Life With Dr. Sanjay Gupta.” Gupta is another familiar physician for listeners and is the chief medical correspondent for CNN.
The cancellation seems slightly unexpected, considering he renewed his deal with the syndicator just last September. But it’s possible that this was partially Oz’s decision.
As NY Daily News reported:
Oz’s rep, Tim Sullivan claimed Thursday that Oz had actually chosen to end his deal with the mega radio syndicator last winter – just months after signing a new deal. He said the change of heart came after Harpo’s radio division shut its doors in December.
When Westwood One picked up Oz’s segment back in 2010, the company’s Executive Vice President Bart Tessler called Dr. Oz “a brand and a voice that people trust for great insight. We love being able to connect our listeners to content that can improve their lives.”
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
It seems like this actually has nothing to do with the recent controversy. This decision was already in the works, according to a statement Harpo sent to E! News. And Oz’s relationship with his Winfrey seems to still be solid.
Oz told E!:
“When it gets hot in the kitchen you call people you trust so yes I connected with Oprah. I talked to [my wife Lisa] who is the brains of the operation…
“Oprah left me a very nice message, saying to recognize sometimes it’s uncomfortable but if its unworthy doing, stick with it.”
