Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Repurchases 1.37 Million Shares at $23.79 and Enters into Long-Term Strategic Agreement With Time Inc.

    NEW YORK, Feb. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.
 (NYSE:   MSO) today announced that it has agreed to repurchase from Time Inc., a
 wholly-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:   TWX), 1.366 million shares
 of its common stock at a purchase price of $23.79 per share for a total
 consideration of $32.5 million.  MSO has also announced that, as part of the
 transaction, it entered into a long-term strategic agreement with Time Inc.
 As part of the relationship, Time Inc. has agreed to extend the term of its
 magazine distribution, fulfillment and services agreements with MSO for an
 additional three years, enter into new promotional print and new media
 advertising agreements and continue to hold MSO shares for approximately three
 years.  As anticipated at the time of MSO's initial public offering, MSO will
 finance the share repurchase with a portion of the proceeds from the IPO.
     "I am thrilled to be able to broaden our strategic relationship with Time
 Inc. and Time-Warner.  They have been a big supporter of Martha Stewart Living
 Omnimedia since the beginning of the magazine and I am happy that they will
 remain a significant partner and investor in MSO," said Martha Stewart,
 Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MSO.
     "Martha and her team deserve a great deal of credit for building a
 significant and vibrant franchise.  We're delighted to continue our
 association with them as both a business partner and investor," said Don
 Logan, Chairman and CEO of Time Inc.
     Under the terms of the new strategic partnership, MSO and Time Inc. agreed
 to:
     -- Enter into a comprehensive print advertising agreement through which
 MSO will run ads for its products in Time Inc. publications through 2004.
     -- Enter into a broad new media advertising agreement through which MSO
 will advertise on Time Inc.'s web sites through 2004.
     -- Extend MSO's optional renewals on its agreement with Time Distribution
 Services, which provides newsstand distribution services for MSO magazines,
 through December 2007.
     -- Extend MSO's optional renewals on its agreement with Time Customer
 Service, which provides fulfillment and customer service for MSO magazines,
 through December 2008.
 
     Additionally, Time Inc.'s put and call rights relating to its MSO equity
 (as described in MSO's initial public offering prospectus) have terminated.
 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc., is a multimedia company consisting of
 four business segments.  The company's Publishing segment includes the
 magazine Martha Stewart Living; the quarterly magazine Martha Stewart
 Weddings; books written by Martha Stewart and the editors of Martha Stewart
 Living; the syndicated "askMartha" newspaper columns and the Westwood One
 syndicated radio show "askMartha."  The Television segment includes a
 nationally syndicated, daily one-hour television program, Martha Stewart
 Living; a daily cable television program, From Martha's Kitchen, on the Food
 Network; weekly appearances on CBS News' The Early Show broadcast, and
 periodic CBS network primetime television specials.  The Merchandising segment
 includes strategic merchandising and distribution partnerships with Kmart,
 Sherwin-Williams, P/Kaufmann and Zellers.  Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia,
 Inc. also has an Internet/Direct Commerce segment that includes an Internet
 site, http://www.marthastewart.com, and an on-line store and mail-order
 catalog, "Martha by Mail."  Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. is listed on
 the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MSO.
 
     This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements," as that
 term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
 These statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "may,"
 "will," "should," "could," "expects," "estimated," "plans," and "intends."
 MSO's actual results may differ materially from those projected in these
 statements, and factors that could cause such differences include declines in
 consumer spending, increased competition in e-commerce, general economic
 conditions and government regulations.  These and other factors are discussed
 in more detail in MSO's filings with the SEC, copies of which may be accessed
 through the SEC's World Wide Web at http://www.sec.gov.
 
 

SOURCE  Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia