• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, April 28, 2010

In another sign that the magazine business may be stabilizing after over a year of steep declines, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia said its publishing division's revenues were basically flat in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2009.

Revenue increases at the company's other divisions combined to lift overall revenues 5.5% from $50.4 million to $53.2 million.

MSLO publishing revenues were more or less stable at $28.3 million in the first quarter, compared to $28.4 million last year. According to separate figures from the Publishers Information Bureau, total ad pages at flagship Martha Stewart Living were up 6.2% to 191 in the first quarter, while Martha Stewart Weddings jumped 77% to 433 ad pages. Everyday Food was up 5.2% to 67 ad pages, while Body + Soul (recently re-branded Whole Living) was down 18.4% to 90 ad pages in 1Q.

The company's overall revenues received a boost from a new licensing agreement in its broadcasting division, where MSLO signed a licensing deal giving the Hallmark Channel exclusive access to its library of video content. Accordingly, broadcasting division revenues increased 15% from $10.5 million to $12.1 million.

The company also benefited from strong sales in merchandising, buoyed by the new Martha Stewart Living line at Home Depot and healthy sales figures from Stewart's established lines at Macy's, Michaels and various independent retailers.

MSLO is also set to unveil a new line, Martha Stewart Pets, at PetSmart this spring. Merchandising revenues increased 10% from $8.9 million to $9.8 million in the quarter.

Finally, MSLO also saw an increase in Internet advertising revenues, which grew 19% from $2.6 million to $3.1 million.