Martha Clears 60%

By Paige Albiniak
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

As the National Association of Television Programming Executives' convention gets under way in Las Vegas, the deal announcements are starting to roll, as well.

NBC Universal says it has sold its daytime talk show featuring Martha Stewart in more than 60% of the country, including on the 14 stations owned by NBC U.
In addition to the NBC O&Os, Martha Stewart also has been sold on stations from the Hearst-Argyle, Gannett, Scripps Howard, Belo, Freedom, CBS, Young, Clear Channel, Meredith, Journal Broadcast and Viacom groups.
Stations purchasing the show include Viacom’s KCNC Denver, Viacom’s KDKA Pittsburgh, Belo’s WCNC Charlotte, Clear Channel’s WKRC Cincinnati, Journal Broadcast’s WTMJ Milwaukee and Freedom’s WPEC West Palm Beach.
The hour show, produced by Mark Burnett Productions, will be taped live before a studio audience, but it also will include interactive features that allow more interaction with Stewart.
Sticking with what she’s known for, the show will feature segments on cooking, entertaining, decorating and gardening.

Paige Albiniak
Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.