The Oprah Winfrey Network has signed an advertising partnership with Kohl’s Department Stores for its upcoming Mark Burnett-produced original series "Your OWN Show: Oprah’s Search for the Next TV Star."
The series will conduct a nationwide search to find the next big TV star, who will be awarded a studio talk show on OWN.
The deal includes a presenting sponsorship, paid commercials within the show, product integrations, online and on-air mentions and exposure, tagged tune-ins and other publicity tied to the show.
It will also include a series of short, co-branded vignettes, specially created for the series, that will air both in and outside of the show.
"We’re really looking for strategic partnerships that bring something special to our audiences and Kohl’s can do that," Kathleen Kayse, executive VP of sales for OWN said in a statement.
"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," added Julie Gardner, executive VP and COO for Kohl’s.
Auditions for the show begin online May 14 and run till June 26. Potential contestants can make a three-minute audition video and upload it to Oprah.com.
Online auditions will be voted on by the public. The five people who get the most votes will be flown to Los Angeles to meet with executives from Mark Burnett Productions. In person auditions will be held in New York, Dallas, Los Angeles and Atlanta.
The network goes live beginning Jan. 1, 2011,
