NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Tuesday announced a new PBS television show without its famous founder or her name.
The company also marked Stewart's 63rd birthday Tuesday by reporting a worse than expected second quarter loss that it blamed on fallout from her legal problems.
The company reached an agreement to air "Everyday Food" weekly on Public Broadcasting System stations nationwide beginning January 2005. It is the first show from the company not to bear the name "Martha."
The cast of five cooks will not include Stewart, whose own syndicated television show, "Martha Stewart Living" was put on hold after it was dropped by many commercial stations since her conviction on federal obstruction of justice charges earlier this year. The halt in production of that show caused the company to layoff some of its television staff.
The company has announced plans to downplay Martha Stewart's name in its various product and to emphasize the world "Living" in products that still bear its name. The company launched a magazine called Everyday Food in October 2003, after the scandal about Stewart's December 2001 sale of Imclone Systems (IMCL: Research, Estimates) stock had already started to tarnish her name.
"This new television program is the next important step in our development of the Everyday Food brand label," said CEO Sharon Patrick in a statement.
Loss worse than forecasts
In its second quarter financial report, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO: Research, Estimates) lost $19.2 million, or 39 cents a share, from continuing operations, compared with earnings of $1.2 million, or 2 cents a share, a year earlier.
Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call forecast a loss per share of 33 cents, with a range of estimates from 30 to 36 cents.
"Our second quarter results, while reflecting losses due to the negative effects of Martha Stewart's personal legal situation, primarily on the company's advertising performance, were nevertheless in line with our expectations," said a statement from Patrick.
Revenue fell to $44 million from $65.8 million a year earlier. First Call's forecast was for revenue of $46 million.
Shares of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO: Research, Estimates) lost 41 cents to $11.40 in trading Monday.
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