Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
Thank you. (Operator’s instructions) Your first question comes from the line of Greg Badishkanian with City.
Gregory Badishkanian – Citigroup
Great, thanks. Hey, I have a few questions for you. So, it looks like NutriSystem D is having some pretty good results. And just wonder how much – you mentioned a sequential improvement in the third quarter. How much of that was due to NutriSystem D versus, maybe, the consumer getting a little bit better?
Joseph M. Redling
Yeah, Greg, it was really the sequential improvement, D, was a big factor in that. Probably the primary factor in that improvement as we invested in the launch in the second quarter, that program continued to pick up momentum and we continued to increase our spending against it. But we also saw improved trends in the core business, which was what we were really looking for. And that was driven in a large part by our marketing as well as our improved media mix. So D is a significant contributor to the improvements we’ve seen and we expect that to continue.
Gregory Badishkanian – Citigroup
Yeah. I know it’s hard because it’s such a fragmented industry. But would you say that you think the overall weight loss industry saw some improvements in the third quarter or is it just too difficult to say?
Joseph M. Redling
Honestly, we have not been able to see specific consumer spending improvements to date. We know we all witnessed the overall improvement in the financial markets. But even as recently as this morning with consumer confidence and that came out, consumers are still very concerned and challenged on spending as they move into the holiday season. So definitely saw stability. So we did not see trends getting worse after the second quarter. We saw them bottom out and actually show a little bit of improvement. But we haven’t in any of our tracking seen anything that really predicts an increase in consumer spending or consumer sentiment at this time.
Gregory Badishkanian – Citigroup
Okay. And then I guess importantly as we go out to 2010 and the beginning of the year is an important part of the diet season, maybe compare what you have going in that’s new versus what you had in early 2009 and if you think it’s enough to generate growth. And if you feel like the initiatives are better than last year?
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