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Stewart discussing TV deal
Report says convicted domestic diva in talks with reality show producer Burnett on syndication deal.
May 14, 2004: 8:21 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Martha Stewart, who is facing possible jail time after her conviction on federal obstruction of justice charges, is discussing a TV syndication deal with the leading producer of reality television shows, according to a published report.

Trade publication Daily Variety reports that Stewart met this week with Mark Burnett, executive producer of such reality series as "Survivor" and "The Apprentice," to discuss a syndication deal for her show, which lost most of its distribution following her conviction.

Sharon Patrick, CEO of Stewart's company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO: Research, Estimates), attended the meeting, according to the Variety report.

"I met with Martha and Sharon to see if there are any opportunities in syndication," Burnett told Daily Variety. "My vision says her customers and fans are still loyal to her. I don't think the Martha Stewart brand loyalty has changed."

Viacom (VIA: Research, Estimates), which owns both the CBS and UPN networks, pulled the show from affiliates it owned in March in wake of her conviction. Many other affiliates dropped the show as well. The show is syndicated by Viacom unit King World, but that syndication deal is up soon, according to Daily Variety.

Burnett told the trade publication that he's interested in the show if it becomes available. He also said he thinks Stewart was unfairly prosecuted and hopes she avoids jail time. Burnett is seeking to focus less on reality shows. He is developing a situation comedy, "Commando Nanny," for the WB network, according to the trade publication.

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Stewart's sentencing date is June 17. Federal sentencing guidelines suggest that she faces a prison term of between one to two years. Her lawyers are expected to argue that sentencing her to jail will cause undo hardship on others, forcing her company to lay off employees.

The company reported larger than expected losses in the most recent quarter. A drop in advertising and licensing revenue -- related to the cancellation of her show in many markets -- was one reason for that loss. The company said its research shows customers remain loyal to the Martha Stewart brand despite her conviction. It said, however, that it would put more emphasis on the word "Living" and less on "Martha Stewart," including its magazine, Martha Stewart Living.  Top of page




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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.