It was only a matter of time before the Martha Stewart Living (NYSE:MSO) media empire branched out into music. No, Martha's not going to be the one crooning. Her company is teaming up with Sony (NYSE:SNE) to release a three-disc set of holiday music later this month.
Sure, you wanted to hear Martha cover Sam Cooke's "Chain Gang" or Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock." Don't wait up for that. Martha's trying to take the high-road in restoring her crafty persona and she hasn't dabbled in the self-effacing phase just yet.
The venture with Sony will feature discs loaded with traditional, jazzy, and classical seasonal favorites. The music will be accompanied with holiday recipes. Of course!
But is Martha just laying it on too thick at the moment? Her version of The Apprentice on General Electric's (NYSE:GE) NBC has been a colossal dud. Only 6 million homes tuned in last week and it's going to get even tougher now that the show is being bumped to 9 pm on Wednesdays, opposite the ABC hit Lost. Television critics haven't been exactly enamored by the reality series, claiming that she is too nice.
Apparently the "you don't fit in" dismissals and syrupy hand-written condolence letters are no match for the brash boardroom tension and harsh firings doled out by Donald Trump on Thursdays. Trump's show is also slumping this season, though it's still drawing 60% more viewers than Martha's show.
For investors in Martha's multimedia company, it has to be frustrating. Everything has been falling into place since she wrapped up her prison sentence. The number of ads are going up in her flagship magazine business. She has two primetime shows on NBC. She has signed on with Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI). The ingredients are in place for a turnaround, yet the shares are trading a third lower than they were back in February.
Was the market overestimating Martha's appeal then or is it underestimating her allure now? Until the company returns to consistent profitability, it will be difficult to answer that. The potential is certainly there. The avenues of exposure are clearly more open to Martha now than ever before. So when will investors "fit in" with their stock?
A bunch of holiday tunes and a box of recipes isn't going to make the good cheer come any sooner, but at least it's all incremental to Martha's expanding empire.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz tried to get through Martha's show but just couldn't do it. He does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story. The Fool has a disclosure policy. He is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
