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MSLO to Test Paid Downloads

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia will start testing a paid download model for accessing the company's vast library of online video content, Dow Jones reports. Stewart said she has been exploring the possibility of charging consumers for online content for several years. The test, which begins next month, uses iAmplify's content management platform.

"It has to happen," Steard said during a panel discussion at a media conference in New York. "We will see monetization on the Web." She did not reveal details about pricing for the new service, ,but said that the majority of content on the Web site would remain free.

Stewart's comments come as media companies struggle to drive revenue from online content to replace flagging traditional revenues. The likes of Time Warner, Walt Disney Co., The New York Times Co. and News Corp. are all currently exploring online subscription models.

During the panel discussion, Stewart also said that Twitter, the popular microblogging service, would likely become a powerful marketing tool for big brands, adding that she would pay to use the service for marketing purposes, for example. "It took me two years to get to 600,000 subscribers with Martha Stewart Living," she said. "It took a fraction of that time to get there on Twitter."

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