COMPANY TOWN ANNEX

King World Renews ‘Oprah Winfrey’ Contract: After months of increasing speculation, King World Productions said it renewed its contract to distribute “The Oprah Winfrey Show” through the 1999-2000 TV season. “Oprah” accounts for more than a third of King World’s revenue, and a failure to renew the top-rated talk show would have been a severe blow to the company. Under the new contract, Winfrey may receive options for 1.5 million shares of King World stock on top of the million she already controls. In addition, she has the option to take over production of the show for the latter term of the contract.