Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia on Tuesday reported a slightly narrowed loss for the first quarter, but a persistent advertising slump at its magazines and the absence of the daily syndicated television continued to take their toll on revenue.

The company reported a first-quarter loss of $19.2 million, compared with red ink of $19.5 million a year ago. Revenue tumbled more than 13 percent to $38.7 million.

The television division’s weakness proved to be a factor in the overall results. For the quarter, the TV division’s revenue sank 81 percent to $797,000 from a year-earlier figure of $4.2 million. The operating loss for the quarter was $2.2 million, versus $1.9 million a year ago.

The company attributed the decline to the absence of the flagship syndicated TV show, which ended production in September 2004. The company is gearing up to launch a new syndicated show featuring Martha Stewart this fall, with production set to begin sometime in the second quarter.

Separately, the company announced it has struck a multiyear agreement with Warner Home Video to produce a line of DVDs based on the company’s television library. The first set of releases are expected to go on sale in the fourth quarter.