Tyler Perry is currently in talks with Lionsgate to secure a deal that could place him head to head against his BFF Oprah Winfrey!

Perry is in position to shifts from movie making mogul to cable network CEO with “Tyler TV “…. coming soon to a cable television network near you!

As if being an island owning super producer wasn’t enough!

Details below…

Lionsgate is betting that Tyler Perry has the star power to carry an entire cable channel, Oprah Winfrey style.

That movie studio and Mr. Perry — whose flourishing African-American fan base consistently turns his plays, television shows and films into hits — are forming a new venture called Tyler TV, according to an industry official briefed on the matter who requested anonymity because the plans are private.

The partners will initially stock the channel with reruns of Mr. Perry’s sitcoms and movies, including the popular Madea series, in which he appears in drag as the title character, a gun-toting grandmother. They also plan to buy third-party content that meshes with Mr. Perry’s Christianity-tinged brand.

Lionsgate and Mr. Perry declined to comment.

Tyler TV, which is still a working title, is intended as a home base for the prolific Mr. Perry — just as Ms. Winfrey, one of Mr. Perry’s most ardent supporters, now operates OWN. But as OWN demonstrates, cable plans that seem promising can be tricky. Ms. Winfrey’s channel, a partnership with Discovery Communications, has been a major ratings disappointment. [READ MORE]

In related news, Roger Bobb, the former Executive Vice President of Tyler Perry Studios, abruptly left his position a few months ago to launch his own production company:

“Today will be my last day at Tyler Perry Studios. It has been an incredible seven years and I would like to thank Tyler Perry, The Tyler Perry Studios staff, Lionsgate, TBS, Debmar/Mercury and especially the hundreds of cast and crew members that I have had the honor and privilege of working with during my amazing time here. 11 films, 222 episodes of “House Of Payne” and 140 episodes of “Meet The Browns” — what a blessing!…

I’m elated to announce that beginning Tuesday, May 31st, I will begin a new chapter as President of Bobbcat Films, my new film and television production company. I look forward to continuing to work with all of you soon. Thank You and God Bless.”

At the time, there was no explanation regarding Bobb’s decision to depart but the buzz around town is that this pending Lionsgate deal may have had something to do with it.

Would you watch Tyler Perry’s Cable Network?

Oprah’s Network is known for all that ‘Best You” type jazz… what type of shows do you think Tyler will develop?