Ora TV is a television production studio and on-demand digital television network launched in 2012 by television host
Larry King
Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program ...
and his wife Shawn Southwick King and funded by
América Móvil
América Móvil is a Mexican telecommunications corporation headquartered in Mexico City, Mexico. It is the 7th largest mobile network operator in terms of equity subscribers and one of the largest corporations in the world. América Móvil is a ...
, a business venture of Mexican billionaire
Carlos Slim
Carlos Slim Helú (; born 28 January 1940) is a Mexican business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. From 2010 to 2013, Slim was ranked as the richest person in the world by the ''Forbes'' business magazine. He derived his fortune from hi ...
. Ora (which means "now" in Italian and is also Shawn Southwick King's middle name) both produces and distributes television shows including
Emmy
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-nominated ''
Larry King Now
''Larry King Now'' was a talk show hosted by Larry King, available on Ora TV, Hulu and RT America. Launched on July 17, 2012, the series featured interviews with newsmakers, celebrities, world leaders, and Internet stars. The show was similar to ...
'', ''
Politicking with Larry King'', ''Off the Grid with Jesse Ventura'', ''
The Real Girl's Kitchen'', and ''Brown Bag Wine Tasting with William Shatner''. Ora has production offices and studios in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
.
History
Ora TV was founded by Larry King, his wife Shawn Southwick-King, and Carlos Slim in 2012 as an outlet to produce a new show for Larry King after leaving
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
. ''Larry King Now'' was launched as Ora's first show in July 2012 and aired both on Ora TV and
Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
. In 2014, Larry King Now episode "Head Trauma in the NFL" was nominated for a
News and Documentary Emmy Award
The News & Documentary Emmy Awards, or News & Documentary Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Scien ...
in the Outstanding News Discussion and Analysis category.
In April 2013, Ora TV acquired Stick Figure Studios, an Emmy award-winning documentary and reality series production company based in New York. Stick Figure is the producer of ''Catching Hell'', a spearfishing docu-drama that aired on
The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel broadcasts weather forecas ...
in the summer of 2014, with exclusive digital content on Ora TV.
Ora TV's other content includes
Haylie Duff
Haylie Katherine Duff (born February 19, 1985) is an American actress, singer and songwriter, and the older sister of American singer and actress Hilary Duff. She is best known for her roles as List of 7th Heaven characters#Sandy Jameson, Sandy ...
's ''
The Real Girl's Kitchen'' food & lifestyle series that aired on both Ora TV and the
Cooking Channel
Cooking Channel is an American basic cable channel owned by Food Network, a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (69%) and Nexstar Media Group (31%). The channel is a spin-off of Food Network, broadcasting p ...
, the
Laugh Factory
Laugh Factory is a chain of comedy clubs in the United States. The chain is owned by Laugh Factory Inc., and the founder and current chief executive is Jamie Masada.
Endurance record
The Laugh Factory keeps track of an endurance record fo ...
video archive, and road trip adventure show ''Wayward Nation'', which launched in September 2014.
On June 30, 2015, Ora TV severed ties with American real estate tycoon
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
.
Arturo Elías Ayub
Arturo Elías Ayub (born April 27, 1966) is a Mexican businessman, currently Director of Strategic Alliances of Teléfonos de Mexico, CEO of the Telmex Foundation and director of UNO Noticias.
Life and career
Elías Ayub was born in Mexico Ci ...
, Slim's son-in-law and chairman of Ora TV, called his remarks about illegal aliens racist and an insult.
An Episode of ''Politicking'' which aired on September 8, 2016, and featured 2016 presidential candidate
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
was the spark of a controversy. Numerous media outlets erroneously reported the interview was done by Russian state-owned, 'Kremlin-backed' television. Ora TV released a statement clarifying that the content is licensed to
RT America
RT America was a U.S.-based news channel headquartered in Washington, D.C. Owned by TV Novosti and operated by production company T&RProductions, it was a part of the RT (TV network), RT network, a global multilingual television news network base ...
, but produced independently from the network.
On March 1, 2022, following
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Ora TV suspended production on several shows it produced for RT America, which would cease operations on March 3, 2022.
Ora-produced shows
References
External links
*
{{VOD services
Television networks in the United States
Internet properties established in 2012
Television channels and stations established in 2012
Video on demand services
Internet television channels