Look out, Oprah; here comes the Larry King Network

Larry King is hip, new, vital, cutting-edge and exciting. Media Decoder at the New York Times:

Carlos Slim Helú, the Mexican billionaire, is financing an Internet television network called Ora.tv that will feature Larry King, the former CNN interviewer, in a return to the interviewer’s chair.

The network, to be announced on Monday, is the latest indication of Mr. Slim’s interests in Internet broadcasting and in televisionlike content. It will have a slate of shows of varying lengths and will stream them via the Internet to computers, phones and television sets in the United States, Latin America and elsewhere, bypassing traditional television distribution systems.

“There’s an opportunity to build a great brand here over the next few years,” said Jon Housman, whom Mr. Slim recruited to be the network’s chief executive. Mr. Housman was most recently president of digital journalism initiatives for News Corporation.

Ora.tv — the word Ora translates to “now” in Spanish and Italian — is an addition to the empire of Mr. Slim, who is sometimes called the richest person in the world. Mr. Slim’s company América Móvil, the largest wireless company in Latin America, will be the only firm financing the network. The amount of its investment is not being disclosed.

Be the Now, Larry.