MEDIA BUYING DIRECT RESPONSE TELEVISION (DRTV) ARTICLE ..

 

Media Buyers 'Cautious' about 'Martha'

Published: 09/05 - Media Buyer Planner

 

Now that the spotlight is off Martha Stewart's release from prison, ratings of "Martha" are slipping, Media Life reports. This week's Monday and Tuesday episodes averaged a 1.9 metered market household rating, down 5 percent from last week's 2.0 and 14 percent from its premiere-week average of 2.2.
 
"You can definitely tell that it's over, the phenomenon has ended," says one buyer of Stewart's comeback.
 
Others aren't so sure. Peter Koeppel, president of Dallas-based agency Koeppel Direct, predicts that the show's ratings will stabilize over the next few weeks but remains cautious. "We haven't bought the show yet for our clients because we are waiting to see how it performs before recommending it."
 
But the new show is faring better than Stewart's old syndicated show "Martha Stewart Living," which averaged a 1.2 household rating for the first four weeks of the 2002-'03 season, before tanking after Stewart's legal troubles began. "Martha's" better ratings are explained in part by better timeslots and the backing of NBC Universal, which is also behind her primetime "Apprentice" spin-off.