T-C 7/1/04 refs unpersons
Jan. 7th, 2004 08:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ltmurnauFrom today's paper (bits edited):
Martha moved off Canadian airwaves
OTTAWA -- It's just business Martha, not personal.
Martha Stewart's two television shows have been yanked from Canadian cable networks, leaving the embattled domestic guru without a single Canadian outlet for her popular programs. Martha Stewart Living and From Martha's Kitchen ended their run on The Life Network, The Food Network and HGTV (Home and Garden TV) at the end of last year and were not renewed for 2004.
The decision not to renew the programs was strictly a programming move and had nothing to do with her upcoming court case, said a spokeswoman for Alliance-Atlantis Broadcasting, which broadcasts the programs in Canada.
"We had a lot of programs in our inventory that we needed a space for, so when the contract came to an end we decided to put forward some of our top-rated Canadian shows in its place," Deborah Wilson of Alliance Atlantis said on Tuesday.
"It's unfortunate timing no doubt. If it had happened at another time it would have gone completely unnoticed.
"It's unfortunate the contract came to an end within a week of her going into court. The two are in no way related, it's strictly a programming decision."
Wilson said Alliance-Atlantis will maintain a partnership with Stewart's production company and "we hope to work with them in the future." The two programs are still being carried on various TV channels in the U.S, although in many markets the shows have been shuffled off to the wee hours.
Wilson said several Canadian programs including Designer Guys, Design for Living, Weekend Warriors and Room Service are filling the timeslot previously held by Stewart's cancelled shows.
In response to the cancellations, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia released this statement on Tuesday:
"Martha Stewart Living Television fully expects that if the current uncertainty related to Martha Stewart's personal legal situation is positively resolved, we will have opportunities to provide Martha Stewart "how-to" programming to Canadian viewers once again. In addition, MSO looks forward to offering other brand label programming produced by Martha Stewart Living Television for Canadian distribution and enjoyment."
To which I say: yeah, sure, replace this crap with some "top-rated Canadian shows", meanwhile poor old Martha gets married off to the girl with the most cigarettes...
I hate Martha Stewart and everything she stands for (I thought Ana Gasteyer of Saturday Night Live really nailed her) but see my earlier comments from the time Michael Jackson's music disappeared from the airwaves: it's not a question of aesthetic quality, it's making an unperson because they have done Something Wrong but completely unrelated to why they became famous.
And any spin doctor would wriggle with glee over the phrase "the current uncertainty related to Martha Stewart's personal legal situation", I am sure. I'd want to go and have a good wash after typing something like that, though...
Martha moved off Canadian airwaves
OTTAWA -- It's just business Martha, not personal.
Martha Stewart's two television shows have been yanked from Canadian cable networks, leaving the embattled domestic guru without a single Canadian outlet for her popular programs. Martha Stewart Living and From Martha's Kitchen ended their run on The Life Network, The Food Network and HGTV (Home and Garden TV) at the end of last year and were not renewed for 2004.
The decision not to renew the programs was strictly a programming move and had nothing to do with her upcoming court case, said a spokeswoman for Alliance-Atlantis Broadcasting, which broadcasts the programs in Canada.
"We had a lot of programs in our inventory that we needed a space for, so when the contract came to an end we decided to put forward some of our top-rated Canadian shows in its place," Deborah Wilson of Alliance Atlantis said on Tuesday.
"It's unfortunate timing no doubt. If it had happened at another time it would have gone completely unnoticed.
"It's unfortunate the contract came to an end within a week of her going into court. The two are in no way related, it's strictly a programming decision."
Wilson said Alliance-Atlantis will maintain a partnership with Stewart's production company and "we hope to work with them in the future." The two programs are still being carried on various TV channels in the U.S, although in many markets the shows have been shuffled off to the wee hours.
Wilson said several Canadian programs including Designer Guys, Design for Living, Weekend Warriors and Room Service are filling the timeslot previously held by Stewart's cancelled shows.
In response to the cancellations, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia released this statement on Tuesday:
"Martha Stewart Living Television fully expects that if the current uncertainty related to Martha Stewart's personal legal situation is positively resolved, we will have opportunities to provide Martha Stewart "how-to" programming to Canadian viewers once again. In addition, MSO looks forward to offering other brand label programming produced by Martha Stewart Living Television for Canadian distribution and enjoyment."
To which I say: yeah, sure, replace this crap with some "top-rated Canadian shows", meanwhile poor old Martha gets married off to the girl with the most cigarettes...
I hate Martha Stewart and everything she stands for (I thought Ana Gasteyer of Saturday Night Live really nailed her) but see my earlier comments from the time Michael Jackson's music disappeared from the airwaves: it's not a question of aesthetic quality, it's making an unperson because they have done Something Wrong but completely unrelated to why they became famous.
And any spin doctor would wriggle with glee over the phrase "the current uncertainty related to Martha Stewart's personal legal situation", I am sure. I'd want to go and have a good wash after typing something like that, though...
