Macrovision has announced the planned sale of TV Guide magazine to private equity firm, OpenGate Capital, effective December 1. In a letter to TV Guide employees, TV Guide President Scott Crystal thanked staff members for their “hard work” and “commitment” to the magazine and said that he was “…extremely confident and optimistic about our future.” [...]
The Disney-owned television network will use the 21 pages to promote its fall schedule and overall brand. TV Guide subscription copies going to the New York and Los Angeles markets will come with a DVD of advertising, too. In 2005, Target bought out an entire issue of The New Yorker. Advertising Age (Aug. 18, 2008)
After protracted losses, TV Guide returned to profitability in the first quarter, according to Publisher Scott Crystal. Since re-making the listings-laden digest into a full-size glossy in October 2005 and cutting its rate base, TV Guide has been on a roll. Ad pages have been growing by double-digit clips each quarter, and the [...]
TV Guide is partnering with Kellogg Co. to promote both the weekly magazine and the food manufacturer’s Cheez-It Crackers on a shared, in-store promotion in 2,500 Kroger stores nationwide. Both products will be placed on custom displays in the shape of stock car, as a tie-in with Cheez-Its NASCAR sponsorship. The magazine will [...]
Folio: magazine cites industry observers who believe that Macrovision Corp. “…faces an uphill battle for shareholder approval…” of its plans to purchase Gemstar TV Guide for $2.8 billion in cash and stock. Wal-Street has been underwhelmed by the pairing from the get-go, punishing shares of both companies on the day the deal was announced. What the [...]
According to 2007 year-end report issued by the Publishers Information Bureau (PIB), advertising pages declined 0.6% from 2006 to 2007. MPA chief marketing officer Ellen Oppenheim characterized the performance as relatively good news in light of reduced ad budgets and general economic conditions. Celebrity weeklies were up, newsweeklies were down, and two magazines turned in [...]
The web channel will supply suffering TV fans with previously-aired episodes so that they can catch up with anything they have missed or take a flyer on a show they haven’t watched before. The web channel offers viewers ‘new-to-them’ programming by pulling content from 55 broadcast, cable and video-centric Web sites. Adweek (Jan. 3, 2007)
Skeptical media-buyers can rest easy now that a new study by McPheters & Co. has been done to uncover where public-place magazines reach the largest and most-engaged audiences. The study, which was funded by Bonnier Corp., BusinessWeek, CMS, Conde Nast, Hachette Filipacchi Media, Meredith Corp., Magazine Publishers of America, Time Inc., Primedia, Reader’s Digest, and TV Guide; [...]