Even Martha would agree that this latest news isn’t “a good thing.” The Martha Stewart Show has been cancelled after seven seasons on the air.
Hallmark Channel has opted not to renew the daytime show due to high production costs and low ratings. Martha averages only about 225,000 viewers.
On the positive side, The Martha Stewart Show will remain in production and new episodes will continue through April. Stewart and her staff are planning a lavish series finale which will air in May. Reruns will continue to air for the remainder of the season, through the summer months.
Distributed by NBC Universal Domestic Television, The Martha Stewart Show debuted in first-run syndication on September 11, 2005. The series moved to Hallmark in the fall of 2010 as part of an overall deal that included a commitment from Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSLO) to produce original new series and specials to compliment Martha and the rest of the cable channel’s lineup.
Hallmark initially scheduled an eight-hour block of Stewart programming but the ratings were poor so it was quickly scaled back to five hours.
The cancellation news was first reported by the NY Post. In response, MSLO’s Lisa Gersh told employees via email that the company will continue to do business with Hallmark, “we are currently exploring programming concepts for Martha Stewart and other MSLO brands beyond this fall.”
At December’s UBS investor conference, Gersh said, “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.”
The fate of Hallmark’s other MSLO-produced shows is still up in the air — including Emeril’s Table, hosted by Emeril Lagasse.
What do you think? Are you sorry that Stewart’s show has been cancelled? Did you follow it to Hallmark?
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Not a good thing for Martha.
Love Martha, she is a marketing powerhouse. I have watched her from the beginning. I agree that her earlier shows were wonderful, educating all of us on how to run a home and grow a garden. I miss that simple format, she should go back to it. Her current show Martha Bakes is a reminder of that old show. She should go back to network TV, or maybe PBS, or HGTV, her programming has real quality education. Hallmark was hard to get.
All the Best Martha !!!
I’m disappointed with this news. I’ve enjoyed Martha for a long time. She has taught me a lot and will really really miss her.
Always, when there is a good educational show on it gets axed.The shows that have shootings and murders seem to servive. No wonder some of the kids are confused. What kind of education is that for our younger people?Martha has given people a chance to learn how to enjoy life and relax with cooking,crafts of all kinds,gardening,pet care and so many other wonderful things .Please rethink this over.
I will miss watching the show in Australia. I do hope she pops up again somewhere .
I have picked up so many tips from her and am sure I dont stand alone.
I will miss Martha! She is a bit pretentious but I think it stems from her perfectionism.
I watch her show every day and enjoy it and have learned quite a bit! I think she has an enormous staff to run the show and that is probably part of the downfall. I have a feeling she will be picked up again by another sponsor.
I have watched numberous incarnations of Martha Stewart’s Shows and have gained some valuable info from a few of them. I had the chance to meet her in person a couple of times back in the early 90’s and was not impressed personally with her, but she has her good points here and there. That being said, I have tried to watch the Hallmark shows, and was just unimpressed altogether. The entertainment factor seemed to be sucked completely out of these shows, and I am not sure exactly why. I am sure she will re-emerge somewhere else, with another variation… Read more »
Oh no, this is not good news! I love watching Martha Stewart…save the show! Maybe Martha and Oprah can team up? Maybe Martha could move to FoodNetwork? Save Martha!
I will miss Martha’s show. She has hired the best of the best, and there has not been one episode where I didn’t learn something new……
Martha…..film from your homes……Build rooms for your staff….Move the craft room….
I enjoyed the show when it was on NBC. I did not follow the move to Hallmark, I can never seem to find the channel on Comcast’s lineup – plus they keep moving what channel it is.
In a lot of ways, Nate Berkus did fill that hole in my viewing, but with his show ending as well, I am depressed.
I guess the concept of DIY is dead.
Please come back from Hallmark to “regular” network tv. One Martha show is enough. You get too thin with 8 hours of programming. Not even ready for you to retire, much less be cancelled. Love you Martha. Been in the audience many times and hope to see you again. Jill
We lost the show here in Australia before this season – probably because of licencing issues when it moved to Hallmark. we would watch it if it WAS available as would a LOT of Americans so it seems – just a bad move to Hallmark. Shame
I enjoyed watching Martha each and everyday. I will miss her show. I think she WA a great woman,and would love to be her. She has shown what women are able to do.
It was a mistake to move to Hallmark, as it is a channel fewer have access to. Martha needs to return to the format that made her popular. Videotaped, in her home(s) so the audience can see more of her life at her properties. She needs to provide more special reports of her travel experiences. The whole show should be more informative, educational and newsworthy instead of watching hollywood celebrities parade thru her shows and embarass themselves because they don’t know how to stir cake batter. A ridiculous talk show format that didn’t work! Seriously, return to what made her… Read more »
I loved the old shows – when she lived at Turkey Hill. We got to see her actually cook and garden and we saw her home, her gardens, and her life. It was great. Maybe she should consider going back to that. It was a much better show than the one that was just cancelled.
I agree, the talk show format was terrible. I lost interest when the audience applauded every little step or statement. If the show returned to it’s earlier format it might have a chance (and lower production costs).
How much does it cost to produce every episode? And is this gonna be trending now? The Nate Berkus show has been axed, what’s next?
They shouldn’t have given her this show in the first place. Not that I’m against ex-cons getting work (most of whom need to eat to live!), but I think Martha could’ve lived comfortably for the rest of her days on the millions she’d already made by that point and it seems to me an ethical issue not to reward someone who did what she did (not that morality has ever played a part in the networks making money before…).
Hah: “eat to live” — yeah, you think?? I bet they all do! This is why I shouldn’t write comments when I’m hungry… I meant “work to live” or “work to eat to live.” ;D
… or “work to eat!” Yeah, that’s it. Shame there isn’t an edit button.
a very harsh comment.She wasnt rewarded but got off her butt to inform and teach others.I for one am grateful