Tyler Perry in negotiations for his own cable channel, report says

Tyler Perry is reportedly going the way of Oprah and is in negotiations to head his own cable channel with the help of Lionsgate.



According to the New York Times, the new venture will be called Tyler TV and will capitalize on Perry's "flourishing African-American fan base."



The channel will reportedly air reruns of Perry's sitcoms and movies and will eventually purchase third-party content which coordinates with the director's "Christian-tinged" vision.



Winfrey's cable channel, the Oprah Winfrey Network, has struggled with low ratings since its launch on January 1, 2011. In July, the media mogul named herself CEO of OWN, which replaced the Discovery Health network and is available in more than 80 million homes. The network was first announced three years ago as a venture between Winfrey's HARPO production company and Discovery Communications.



Perry recently signed on for a third TBS series, "For Better or Worse," which is based on his "Why Did I Get Married" comedy films. It was also announced that his other show, "House of Payne," would end after seven seasons. Production on "For Better or Worse" began in the summer in Atlanta.



Perry is known for his comedy series "Meet The Browns" and his "Madea" franchise, which features Perry in drag as the title character. His most recent movie, "Tyler Perry's Madea's Big Happy Family," was released in April.



This year, the actor and director earned 19 NAACP Image Award nominations, including nods for "House of Payne" and his films "For Colored Girls" and "Why Did I Get Married Too?" Perry took home an 'Outstanding Director' Image Award for "For Colored Girls