MUMBAI: Sirius Satellite Radio and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc today announced an exclusive four-year agreement to create and launch a Martha Stewart-branded satellite radio channel.
The channel, the first of its kind, will provide original programming specifically designed for women listeners and their families, 24-hours-a-day, seven days-a-week.
Martha Stewart Living Radio will leverage the company's expertise in the lifestyle arena to create programming focused on cooking, entertaining, gardening, home-keeping, decorating, holidays, health and living, crafts, and weddings, as well as how-to projects for parents and children, and information and tips for owners and their pets.
Stewart will be a regular presence on the channel and will be actively involved with programme development. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's team of experts will also contribute to the planning. Martha Stewart Living Radio is expected to begin on Sirius later this year. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
"Martha Stewart Living is the premier brand in lifestyle and how-to programming for women and their families. Martha Stewart Living Radio on Sirius will have tremendous appeal to women, who are completely underserved by traditional radio programming," said Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin.
"We expect our partnership with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia to generate both significant subscriber growth and substantial advertising revenue, as sponsors will rush to embrace this huge, brand-loyal audience," he added.
"This will be the first 'around the clock' channel devoted entirely to areas of interest for women in particular. It has been our dream to bring our expertise in the lifestyle arena, and our vast library of how-to ideas, to radio programming.
"Just as we pioneered in the creation of the how-to lifestyle magazine and how-to TV media categories, our new partnership with Sirius is breaking new ground in satellite radio," said Stewart.
"The combined strength of our two companies will enable our customers, as well as current and future Sirius subscribers to benefit from our company's unique approach to how-to content.
"We are all about information and inspiration that is pertinent to every family's everyday living, and we know that our new partnership will enable an even broader audience to partake of our brand of practical, useful, sensible and nurturing information," she added.
"Martha Stewart has an incredibly vibrant and active community of loyal readers and viewers who look for every opportunity to connect and learn from her.
"This new channel will deliver ideas and information, conversations and expert advice, whenever and wherever their busy lives take them," said Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia president and CEO Susan Lyne.
