When Oprah Winfrey's interview with Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, aired on Sunday night, it wasn't just a victory for those who like sharp inside-the-palace intrigue.
It was also a win for a cuttingly modern type of media business.
Since the ocean of content began swelling several years ago, top-end creators have cannily surfed the wave.
They have signed major deals, sometimes committing fully to one company, such as Netflix. But the shrewdest and most clout-laden have made big deals that nonetheless leave them room to work with other platforms.
And few have been shrewder at this than Winfrey.
In the past several years, the former talk-show impresario has signed an overarching content deal with Apple.
It was a grand announcement, made grander by her standing at a Cupertino event declaring: "They're in a billion pockets, y'all." So far the deal has netted such programmes as a limited-series Covid special and regular Book Club segments.
But it's far from the only significant media partnership she has made.
Winfrey is currently producing a musical adaptation of The Color Purple for Warner Media's Warner Bros. Her production company Harpo is behind a number of popular syndicated shows such as Rachael Ray, aired by a host of station groups.
And she sold the Harry and Meghan interview to CBS' entertainment division, the crown jewel of ViacomCBS, for a reported $7 million (about R107m). (Harry and Meghan were not paid.)
