Tyler Perry's numerous shows have been successful on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) for the last five years. It has been reported that Perry's current contract is up in May 2019. Viacom announced last Friday that the network has signed a deal with Perry, who is an actor, writer, director, and producer.

Perry is already working on films for Viacom even though his deal won't start until he has officially left OWN. Then his television shows, films, and videos will be produced at Viacom and BET. Any shows that Perry is working on now are earmarked for Viacom.

When his contract with OWN expires in 2019, his Viacom deal becomes official and will run through 2024.

Perry and Viacom

In a statement, Perry explained his decision to go with Viacom after a successful run with OWN. He explained that Viacom has the capability to reach his audience through its TV, film, and digital platforms. In other words, Perry wants one place to house all of his projects. Also, it will be an opportunity for his shows to be viewed by a larger audience. As it stands now, his shows are on different networks. Two of his popular comedies, "House of Payne” and “Meet the Browns" originally aired on TBS, but they are already on BET in syndication.

Perry's shows will help the struggling Viacom just as they helped OWN when it was struggling.

Viacom has been going downhill, but the deal with Perry is sure to help the network gain some ground just as it did with OWN. The Viacom deal will not go into effect immediately while Perry is still with OWN.

Perry and OWN

Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry are close friends. So, how will Perry's new deal affect OWN and their personal relationship?

His leaving her network must certainly be a disappointment because of the impact his shows have made on said network.

OWN was launched in 2008 and had a very slow start until Perry's shows began airing. When his shows are taken off the network, there will naturally be a very big gap. Scripted shows like “If Loving You Is Wrong” and “The Haves and Have Nots” bring millions of viewers to OWN every week.

At the end of Perry's contract, he has the option to work with the network again but on a non-exclusive basis.

As of now, the 47-year-old filmmaker has a deal with OWN that is similar to his upcoming deal with Viacom. That deal is to create 90 episodes a year which includes comedies and dramas. Perry's shows are not ending on OWN all at once. He is slowly phasing them out in stages. Some of them like "The Haves and the Have Nots" will end in 2018, some will end in 2019, and others like "The Paynes" will not end until Perry's contract ends in 2020.