Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. and The Style Network Announce
Programming Alliance; Style to Air Martha Stewart Living Weekdays in
Primetime; Companies to Produce Original Programming Specials
NEW YORK, June 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Martha Stewart Living
Omnimedia, Inc. (NYSE: MSO) and The Style Network today announced a multi-year
licensing agreement to air Martha Stewart Living, the Emmy(R)-award winning
television program hosted by Martha Stewart, in primetime. Hour-long episodes
from the existing library of Martha Stewart Living will air nationally on The
Style Network weekdays at 8 p.m. EDT beginning this month. The Style Network
will be the exclusive cable home of the original one-hour Martha Stewart
Living television show. As part of the agreement, the companies will also
produce four new original programming specials about weddings.
The Style Network, part of E! Networks, is currently available in
36 million households and attracts a core audience of young, affluent adults
between the ages of 18 and 49. Programming on The Style Network will consist
of episodes of the award-winning Martha Stewart Living, as well as newly
repackaged "best of" specials, including repackaged wedding specials.
The extensive library of the Martha Stewart Living television program,
currently in its eleventh season, consists of more than 1,500 hours of
original "how-to" programming.
In making the announcement, Heidi Diamond, MSO President of Television,
said: "MSO is very pleased to team with The Style Network, a terrific
distribution partner offering an important national platform for our extensive
library of Emmy(R)-award winning Martha Stewart Living programming. We look
forward to continuing to provide our unique high-quality, 'how-to' television
programming to our loyal viewers as well as introducing it to new Style
Network viewers. We are also delighted and excited to work with Style to
develop new programming around our core expertise in weddings."
"Martha Stewart Living's influential lifestyle programming is a natural
fit for The Style Network, combining two attractive brands dedicated to
helping people improve and celebrate their lives," said Stephen Schwartz,
Senior Vice President, Programming, The Style Network. "Martha Stewart Living
television program is an established authority in the lifestyle genre and the
domestic arts, and we are thrilled to offer a new 'destination' for its
viewers on Style. The series provides a wonderful complement to our current
popular lineup of lifestyle programming that includes How Do I Look?, Guess
Who's Coming To Decorate, Style Court and You're Invited. We also look
forward to collaborating on the creation of brand new programming specials
about weddings."
Stated Martha Stewart, Founding Editorial Director of MSO and the creator,
host and executive producer of the Martha Stewart Living television show:
"For more than a decade, Martha Stewart Living has brought to viewers the very
highest quality how-to programming, introducing to our audiences hundreds of
talented guest artisans, gardeners, chefs, craftspeople, collectors,
decorators and entrepreneurial businesspeople. In addition, the Martha Stewart
Living Television show has centered on what is most vital to the daily
interests of homemakers across America. We are proud to have been able to
share these many facets of home and the domestic arts with viewers. By
partnering with The Style Network, we can continue viewer access to our
programming uninterrupted."
"Strategically, we believe this announcement underscores how MSO continues
to evolve the Martha Stewart Living show and brand label on television,"
stated MSO President and CEO Sharon Patrick. "Our multi-year partnership with
Style provides a 'home on cable' for the series that insures that our loyal
audiences will continue to have expanded access to Martha Stewart and the
Martha Stewart Living television series during the 2004-2005 network
syndication hiatus and beyond. Moreover, that access has never been better
because Style intends to present the best of Martha Stewart Living in both
daytime and, for the first time, in primetime airings."
New Original Programming
MSO will collaborate with The Style Network to create unique, new weddings
programming in a series of four original specials inspired by the distinctive
style found in the popular Martha Stewart Weddings magazine. The first special
is slated to air in the first quarter of 2005.
About the Martha Stewart Living television program
Created and hosted by Martha Stewart, the 12-time Emmy Award-winning
Martha Stewart Living television program provides high-quality, 'how-to'
content, whether teaching viewers how to create colorful and unusual flower
arrangements, prepare a surprisingly easy oven-baked risotto, or design simple
and inspirational decorating makeovers for their homes.
Martha Stewart Living television program is produced by Martha Stewart
Living Television Productions, which also produces Petkeeping with Marc
Morrone, which airs in weekend syndication; from Martha's Kitchen, which
appears on the Food Network; from Martha's Garden; and from Martha's Home.
About MSO
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (MSO) is a leading provider of
original "how-to" information that turns dreamers into doers, inspiring and
engaging consumers with unique content and high-quality products for the home.
MSO's creative experts develop content within eight core areas -- Home,
Cooking and Entertaining, Gardening, Crafts, Holiday, Keeping, Weddings, and
Baby and Kids -- that provide consumers with ideas and products to celebrate
their homes and the domestic arts. MSO is organized into four business
segments -- Publishing, Television, Merchandising and Internet/Direct
Commerce.
This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements," as that
term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These
forward-looking statements are not historical facts but instead represent only
our current beliefs regarding future events, many of which, by their nature,
are inherently uncertain and outside of our control. These statements can be
identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "expects,"
"intends," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "potential" or
"continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. The
Company's actual results may differ materially from those projected in these
statements, and factors that could cause such differences include further
adverse reaction to the prolonged and continued negative publicity relating to
Martha Stewart by consumers, advertisers and business partners; further
adverse reaction by the Company's consumers, advertisers and business partners
to the outcome of Ms. Stewart's trial arising from a sale of non-Company stock
by Ms. Stewart; a loss of the services of Ms. Stewart; a loss of the services
of other key personnel; an adverse resolution to the SEC enforcement
proceeding currently underway against Ms. Stewart arising from her personal
sale of non-Company stock; adverse resolution of some or all of the Company's
ongoing litigation; downturns in national and/or local economies; shifts in
our business strategies; a softening of the domestic advertising market;
changes in consumer reading, purchasing and/or television viewing patterns;
unanticipated increases in paper, postage or printing costs; operational or
financial problems at any of our contractual business partners; the
receptivity of consumers to our new product introductions; and changes in
government regulations affecting the Company's industries. Certain of these
and other factors are discussed in more detail in the Company's filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially under the heading
"Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations", which may be accessed through the SEC's World Wide Web site at
http://www.sec.gov. The Company is under no obligation to update any
forward-looking statements after the date of this release.
About The Style Network
Launched October 1, 1998, The Style Network programming features a full
slate of original series and specials that cover gamut of the lifestyle genre.
Based in Los Angeles, The Style Network currently counts 36 million
subscribers with commitments to reach over 40 million in 2004.
SOURCE Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.; The Style Network
/CONTACT: Elizabeth Estroff, AVP, Corporate Communications of Martha
Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc., +1-212-827-8281; or Sarah Goldstein, VP,
Publicity of E! Networks, +1-323-692-4552/
/Web site: http://www.marthastewart.com /
(MSO)
