Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. Chief Executive Susan Lyne said the company is seeing a strong rebound in advertising at its flagship magazine, Martha Stewart Living.
The magazine, which experienced a steep drop in advertising due to Martha Stewart's personal legal woes, should have a 35 percent increase in ad pages in the second quarter, Lyne said at a presentation at a Morgan Stanley media conference.
The company had said late last month that second-quarter ad pages were expected to increase 30 percent, with revenue gaining even faster.
"There are a large numbers of advertisers who left us who are coming back," Lyne said.
Over the past couple of months, the company's ad sales force has been trying to convince large advertisers to start buying "30 pages again instead of five," she said.
Martha Stewart Living Chief Financial Officer James Follo said the company is "very optimistic" about ad demand at the magazine next year in particular.
The magazine accounted for about one-third of the New York media and merchandising company's overall revenue in 2004.
Separately, Lyne said filming of "The Apprentice" starring Martha Stewart will only take up about six and a half weeks of Stewart's time.
The company hopes the reality-TV show will boost Martha's appeal by reaching an audience that might not be familiar with her brand, Lyne said. "We didn't go into it with the idea that it was a revenue driver."
Meanwhile, the new daily syndicated television show starring Stewart is attracting lots of interest from advertisers, she said.
The show also has pulled in syndication fees that are more than double what the show has generated previously, she said.
In morning trading, shares of Martha Stewart Living edged up 33 cents, or 1.6 percent, to $20.89 on the New York Stock Exchange.