Martha Stewart Living 's future unclear
By Paige Albiniak -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/5/2003 7:25:00 AM
Now that home and garden diva Martha Stewart has finally been indicted by the Securities and Exchange Commission and Stewart has stepped down as chairman of the company she founded, the question remains: What happens to her syndicated TV show?
Distributor King World Productions had no comment, but the show already has been declining in ratings all year.
After the May sweeps, Martha Stewart Living rated a 1.1 in households, down 21% from a year ago.
King World is already selling another show -- talk/variety strip Living It Up with Ali & Jack -- that will replace Martha Stewart Living in many markets this fall.
Stations are under contract to air Stewart's show through next summer, but that contract does not preclude them from moving the show to late-night or other less prominent time periods.
The show is cleared in the majority of the country for its 11th season, but it is unclear whether it will go on if Stewart is serving a prison sentence.
Advertisers had already started pulling out of the show, with DaimlerChrysler dropping Stewart in January, although the car manufacturer said its choice not to renew its contract with Stewart had nothing to do with her legal problems.
Stewart was indicted on charges of insider trading and obstruction of justice related to her selling 4,000 shares of ImClone Systems Inc. stock after her Merrill Lynch & Co. broker allegedly gave her insider advice and then the two collaborated to keep the SEC in the dark after it began investigating the trade.
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