I guess this isn’t a good thing.
Hallmark Channel announced the cancellation of the low-rated The Martha Stewart Show after two low-rated seasons. Part of the reason for the program’s demise was due to the series’ high production costs, which included renting an expensive studio to shoot the show in New York City.
This story was first reported on Wednesday by Claire Atkinson of the New York Post.
Ms. Stewart moved her daytime show to Hallmark on September 12, 2010 after five seasons in syndication. By the time its syndicated run ended, it was the lowest-rated talk show on the air, averaging around an 0.5 household rating.
Since its move to Hallmark, the series hasn’t really fared much better – in 2011, Martha averaged only 225,000 viewers, with only 47,000 of them in the female 25-54 demographic. The ratings were lower than the off-network programming it replaced, including The Golden Girls.
Martha aired as part of a daytime block that included Martha Bakes, Mad Hungry, and Emeril’s Table – all produced by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, all of which also tanked in the ratings.
Martha’s final episode is planned for April with repeats expecting to run until September. Hallmark has not named a replacement for The Martha Stewart Show or its related block of programming.