--- description: Weight Watchers sales declined rapidly in the last quarter, despite media celebrity Oprah Winfrey's investment and advertising campaign. title: Apparently Even Oprah Can't Save Weight Watchers image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt761d8d9ff9c8a859/69887b24cd1bba74ff6ff2ad/gettyimages-501056396.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Companies](/tag/companies/) ## Companies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Apparently Even Oprah Can't Save Weight Watchers  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 26, 2016 3:38 PM CUT  Oprah Winfrey is seen on stage during her 'An Evening With Oprah' tour at Allphones Arena on December 12, 2015 in Sydney, Australia. Oprah Winfrey is seen on stage during her 'An Evening With Oprah' tour at Allphones Arena on December 12, 2015 in Sydney, Australia.Don Arnold—WireImage  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 26, 2016 3:38 PM CUT [Weight Watchers](https://www.weightwatchers.com/us/ "undefined") sales declined rapidly in the last quarter, [despite media celebrity Oprah Winfrey’s investment](http://time.com/4198538/oprah-winfrey-weight-watchers-stock-price/ "undefined") and advertising campaign. Weight Watchers reported a 21% drop in quarterly revenue down to $259.2 million, and active subscriber membership dipped 4.8% during the fourth quarter ending Jan. 2, [Reuters reports](http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/oprah-effect-fails-lift-weight-watchers-sales-shares-plunge-n526346?cid=par-time%5F20160226 "undefined"). Winfrey joined the weight-loss company in October 2015 after it had experienced a nearly three-year decline in sales. She made a $43.2 million investment for a 10% stake and was added to the company’s board; its stock more than doubled on the day her involvement was announced. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4238781/weight-watchers-revenue-oprah/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4238781/weight-watchers-revenue-oprah/"},"headline":"Apparently Even Oprah Can't Save Weight Watchers","datePublished":"2016-02-26T15:38:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:24:56.757Z","description":"Weight Watchers sales declined rapidly in the last quarter","url":"https://time.com/4238781/weight-watchers-revenue-oprah/","keywords":["Companies","Oprah Winfrey"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt761d8d9ff9c8a859/69887b24cd1bba74ff6ff2ad/gettyimages-501056396.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt761d8d9ff9c8a859/69887b24cd1bba74ff6ff2ad/gettyimages-501056396.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"An Evening With Oprah - Sydney","caption":"An Evening With Oprah - Sydney","creditText":"Don Arnold—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/companies/","name":"Companies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4238781/weight-watchers-revenue-oprah/","name":"Apparently Even Oprah Can't Save Weight Watchers"}}]}] ```