Brian Damage
01-04-2012, 11:13 AM
"The Martha Stewart Show," the domestic diva's flagship TV property, is to finish at the end of the broadcast season in April, a victim of poor ratings.
Hallmark Channel, its current home, informed Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) that the economics of the show in its current form just do not work anymore, given the sparse audience.
Handed the discouraging news, Stewart's TV family is planning a lavish Oprah Winfrey-style send-off for the program, according to sources close to the situation.
Part of the problem for the show is the sky-high production costs. Last month, MSLO president Lisa Gersh seemed to acknowledge that issue.
"Our expensive studio lease is expiring next year, and we will either bring television in-house or find lower-cost space, which will significantly reduce our TV operating margins," Gersh told a UBS investor conference.
A spokeswoman for MSLO said that "The Martha Stewart Show" and the entire programming block, which includes "Emeril's Table," "Mad Hungry" with Lucinda Scala Quinn and "Martha Bakes," will continue at least through September.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/01/04/martha-stewarts-show-to-end-following-poor-ratings-as-product-sales-drop/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fentertainment+%28Internal+-+Entertainment+-+Mixed%29#ixzz1iVE9S1ul
Hallmark Channel, its current home, informed Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) that the economics of the show in its current form just do not work anymore, given the sparse audience.
Handed the discouraging news, Stewart's TV family is planning a lavish Oprah Winfrey-style send-off for the program, according to sources close to the situation.
Part of the problem for the show is the sky-high production costs. Last month, MSLO president Lisa Gersh seemed to acknowledge that issue.
"Our expensive studio lease is expiring next year, and we will either bring television in-house or find lower-cost space, which will significantly reduce our TV operating margins," Gersh told a UBS investor conference.
A spokeswoman for MSLO said that "The Martha Stewart Show" and the entire programming block, which includes "Emeril's Table," "Mad Hungry" with Lucinda Scala Quinn and "Martha Bakes," will continue at least through September.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/01/04/martha-stewarts-show-to-end-following-poor-ratings-as-product-sales-drop/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foxnews%2Fentertainment+%28Internal+-+Entertainment+-+Mixed%29#ixzz1iVE9S1ul