Meredith gets rights to license Martha Stewart Living

Des Moines-based Meredith Corp. acquired the rights to Martha Stewart Living under a 10-year licensing agreement.

Under the terms of the agreement, which is effective Nov. 1, Meredith will lead sales and marketing, circulation, production, and other non-editorial functions of Martha Stewart Living, its website and Martha Stewart Weddings magazines, Meredith said in a news release.

Meredith also will assume responsibility for the sales and marketing of www.marthastewart.com and www.marthastewartweddings.com and its related assets, including the video library.

Meanwhile, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia's editorial team will continue to produce the content for the magazine and website.

Meredith will begin delivering editions starting with the February 2015 issue of Martha Stewart Living and the Winter 2014 special issue of Martha Stewart's Real Weddings.

The agreement will not have an effect on Meredith's fiscal 2015 second quarter financial performance, but will be accretive to Meredith's earnings for the second half of fiscal 2015 and in fiscal 2016, the company said.

Martha Stewart Living has a readership of more than 10 million, including 1.75 million millennial women, according to Mediamark Research Institute. Martha Stewart's digital properties average 8 million monthly unique visitors and 60 million views, according to comScore.

This is the latest in a series of acquisitions, launches and alliances for Meredith's National Media Group, which include Allrecipes.com, Eating Well, Family Fun, Every Day with Rachael Ray, Parenting and Baby Talk brands.