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Oprah Winfrey, arguably the most powerful woman in entertainment (if not the world in general), is preparing to pack her luxurious bags. She's announced that in 2011, after a quarter-century of favorite things and heartfelt interviews, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will be no more. The last program is scheduled for Sept. 9, 2011. One can only imagine who might be her guests.

In syndication across the country, Oprah's eponymous program is the top-rated U.S. daytime show (take that, Days of Our Lives!), with an average viewership of 7.1 million this year.

While not entirely unexpected, the news is likely a bit of a blow to CBS Corporation (CBS), as its CBS Television Distribution arm syndicates the program. Additionally, Walt Disney (DIS) might feel the sting of an Oprah departure as Disney-owned ABC is the primary network that airs the show. And will it impact O, Oprah's monthly magazine published by the Heart Corporation? To say nothing of all of the manic women in the audience who long for a chance at one of Oprah's favorite things.

Disney (DIS), the media company behind Mickey Mouse and Buzz Lightyear, and whose colleagues in the industry include CBS (CBS), General Electric's (GE) NBC Universal, News Corp. (NWS), Sony Corporation (SNE), Time Warner (TWX), and Viacom (VIA), reported results for Q4 and the full fiscal year on Thursday after the bell. While the bottom line came in ahead of expectations, I have to say that the release was disappointing to this shareholder.

Earnings on an adjusted basis for the quarter came in at 46 cents per share, higher than the number predicted by analysts. Unfortunately, as I go through the data, I don't think I'm too comforted by such income performance.

Disney (DIS), a media business that competes with Viacom (VIA), CBS (CBS), News Corp. (NWS), and General Electric's (GE) NBC Universal, will be talking up its fourth-quarter numbers on Thursday after the bell. Are you a shareholder? If so, are you excited? Well, don't get too excited, because we might not be getting any growth, even if the Mouse beats on the bottom line. According to Earnings.com, the call is for 40 cents per share versus the 43 cents per share made in the comparable period.

You know what, though? For the most part, I'm not so concerned with exactly how much Disney makes this quarter. I'm a shareholder, and I want to see management at least come in at the estimate, of course, but I'll be more interested in the conference call. Way more interested this time around, in fact.

Here are some highlights from last week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) reported that Q3 revenue was flat while earnings and cash flow declined.
• Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings, helped by healthy gross margins.
• Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) posted better-than-expected Q3 earnings with modest revenue growth.
• Dean Foods Co. (NYSE: DF) Q3 revenue missed estimates but earnings came in better than expected.
• Expeditors International of Washington Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPD) traded lower after its Q3 earnings miss.
• Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN) beat earnings estimates in the week after the Google Navigation launch.

Shares of CBS (NYSE: CBS) are no longer rolling around in the pits of equity hell. Do you recall when they were trading around $3 per share? Nasty time it was. Amazingly, as I write this, CBS is hovering near a 52-week high. They are well over $12 in value.

Yet, when I look at the latest earnings report, I don't feel as upbeat as the market. According to the press release (the link goes to a .pdf file), revenues were flat for the third quarter and adjusted income dropped to 25 cents per share from the year-ago figure of 39 cents per share.

Analyst upgrades:

• Bernstein upgraded General Electric (NYSE: GE) to Outperform from Market Perform Thursday after the close. The firm sees an improved risk/reward on the stock and raised its price target to $19 from $18.
• Bernstein also upgraded Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) to Outperform from Market Perform as it believes sales growth and margin expansion expectations are too low. The firm raised its target on shares to $160 from $125.
• Piper Jaffray upgraded CBS (NYSE: CBS) to Neutral from Underweight following the company's Q3 results and raised its target on shares to $13 from $12.
• JPMorgan upgraded Macy's (NYSE: M) to Overweight from Neutral to reflect the company's improving comps. The firm has a $23 target on the stock.
• Ansys (NASDAQ: ANSS) was upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies.
• Travelers (NYSE: TRV) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• Air Methods (NASDAQ: AIRM) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Stephens.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the advertising market could be ready for an upswing. Michael Morris, an analyst at UBS, is making a connection between improved sales at retail stores and a robust environment for commercials and the like. His reasoning is sound: if retail businesses are doing better, then they might want want to take advantage of new cash levels to invest in marketing initiatives aimed at bringing in traffic.

Indeed, the advertising industry has been in the dumps. Any good news is welcome. Media entities such as Disney (NYSE: DIS), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Viacom (NYSE: VIA), CBS (NYSE: CBS), News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), and General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal, are counting on increased opportunities to sell their respective inventories at better prices.

Last year, I composed a not-so-bullish appraisal of NBC Universal's Jay Leno strategy. NBC Universal, which General Electric (NYSE: GE) has an 80% stake in, wanted to make sure that Leno's services did not wind up in the hands of a competing media entity when they handed The Tonight Show over to Conan O'Brien, so they bestowed upon him a talk program to be aired weeknights at 10 PM. It debuts tonight. I basically argued that NBC would survive without Leno, and that such an odd programming choice at 10 PM, when scripted intellectual assets are usually broadcast, might not be the optimal paradigm to engage.

Well, I still feel this is a risky move, but I do have to say that an article by Scott Collins over at the Los Angeles Times has piqued my interest in the expected economical benefit that Leno-at-10 might imply. Leno might not bring in a ton of eyeballs, but his profit margin could be acceptable given the lower capital necessary to fund his extravaganza.

It took a while, but the broadcast media community is starting to realize that Nielsen Media may not have the answers to all their audience-related questions.

So, 14 of the largest players in the space -- including programmers, advertisers, and ad buyers -- are shelling out some cash to see if there's a better way. The group claims it isn't looking for an alternative to Nielsen ... but let's do the math on this one. If they aren't looking for some new choices, then just what the hell are they doing?

Analyst upgrades:

• FBR Capital upgraded Ann Taylor (NYSE: ANN) to Outperform from Market Perform to reflect a recovery in the missy sector and the company's product improvement. The firm raised its target on shares to $19 from $13.
• Roth Capital upgraded Marvell Tech (NASDAQ: MRVL) to Buy from Hold based on product cycle strength in wireless and Ethernet, HDD share gains, and a return of PC growth. Target is $22.
• Goldman upgraded Colgate (NYSE: CL) to Buy from Neutral citing valuation and expectations for a pick-up in unit growth. The firm raised its price target to $85 from $83. Note that Goldman downgraded Clorox to Neutral from Buy.
• Cadbury (NYSE: CBY) was upgraded to Neutral from Underweight at HSBC.
• Garmin (NASDAQ: GRMN) was upgraded to Buy from Underperform at BofA/Merrill.
• Qwest (NYSE: Q) was upgraded to Market Weight from Underweight at Thomas Weisel.

Nielsen ratings have always been an imperfect system of projecting who is watching what when. The advent of DVR technology and internet-streamed programming have made the television ratings game even more challenging.

So the major TV companies -- General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal, Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), News Corp. (NYSE: NWS), Viacom (NYSE: VIA), CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS), and Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) -- have teamed together to fight against Nielsen, which not only delivers arguably flawed data, but charges a hefty fee to do so.

Here are some highlights from last week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) reported better-than-expected Q2 results, sending shares higher.
• Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) said it swung to a Q2 profit despite a dearth of leveraged buyouts.
• CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) Q2 earnings declined but still topped estimates, sending shares higher.
• Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) reported stellar Q2 results driven by its the popularity of RedBox.
• Clorox Co. (NYSE: CLX) posted solid Q4 earnings but said revenues were flat due to currency effects.
• Duke Energy Corp. (NYSE: DUK) lower Q2 earnings beat expectations by a penny but revenue fell short.

CBS (NYSE: CBS), the famous broadcaster that competes with Disney's (NYSE: DIS) ABC, News Corp.'s (NASDAQ: NWS) Fox, and General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC, reported Q2 earnings on Thursday after the bell. If you judged the performance solely by the profit drop, you would have no choice but to feel sorry for CBS. The media company made an adjusted 8 cents per share. Last year at this time, CBS pulled in an adjusted 49 cents per share.

But the market looked past the significant income decline and instead seemed to focus on the fact that management beat Wall Street's expectations by a penny, according to Earnings.com estimates. Shares of CBS were up over 7% during yesterday's after-hours session.

News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), a media company that competes with Disney (NYSE: DIS), General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal, Sony (NYSE: SNE), CBS (NYSE: CBS), Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), and Viacom (NYSE: VIA), reported Q4 earnings on Wednesday after the bell. They were unimpressive. Revenues decreased almost 11%. On a reported basis, the company lost 8 cents per share, compared to a profit of 43 cents per share in the year-ago period. That is a depressing drop, but on an adjusted basis, News Corp. made 19 cents per share, which, according to Bloomberg, was a single penny ahead of expectations.

The company's problems with MySpace always make the news these days. Technically, the site is a part of Fox Interactive Media, and it is that division of NWS which took on charges that helped to drive the GAAP loss. Remember when MySpace was so important to shareholder value? Not any more. Facebook and Twitter have now taken all the buzz, and News Corp. just isn't having a fun time with this investment. This is one area that management obviously has to work on.

Did you catch General Electric's (NYSE: GE) second-quarter earnings report on Friday? If you're a shareholder, you might be glad you didn't. I happen to be a shareholder, and I saw them. They weren't pleasant. However, it must be kept in mind that the globe is still gripped by a recession, and that an industrial giant like GE will take time to turn itself around.

Total net sales dropped 17%. Net income from continuing operations came in at 26 cents per share. That represented a horrible 47% drop on the bottom line. If you look at the individual operating segments, you'll note that revenues dropped across the board. And with the exception of the division devoted to energy infrastructure, every segment reported profit declines. Energy infrastructure actually expanded its income by 13%.