Viewership for the premiere of "The Apprentice - Martha Stewart" was below expectations, at 7 million, and shares of Stewart's company, MSO, have dropped 30% in the last two weeks to under $25 per share. After missing the first episode, I tuned in tonight to see how the show compared to Trump's version, and also to see David, a contestant who recently graduated from my alma mater.
After an hour, David survived the second week and it was easy to see why ratings have not been very good. Martha just isn't the draw that Donald Trump is. She's boring to watch, and her background voiceovers sound like a bad actress reading from a cue card, not someone who draws a lot of attention and interest on television. It takes more than just a successful entrepreneur to draw viewers in prime time. Just ask Mark Cuban after his show, The Benefactor, completely bombed.
Ad pages in Martha's magazine might be up nicely year-over-year, but Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia stock remains overvalued at 5 times sales.