Coast to Coast newsstand distributor to be bought by Pattison's Comag group

Coast to Coast Newsstand Services Partnership (CTC) -- one of the best known distributors of Canadian and U.S. magazines in the Canadian market -- is to be bought by the Comag Marketing Group PLC, a Princeton, New Jersey-based retail magazine sales and marketing company effective January 1.  Comag is a subsidiary of The Jim Pattison Group of Vancouver, 

 “I’m disappointed that CTC will not be carrying on after January 1, 2019" [said Dan Shapiro, Managing Director of CTC a release published on Mastheadonline.com] "but am gratified that our clients will continue to receive expert quality service through CMGC. Continuous sales declines throughout our entire eco system put the sustainability of CTC in jeopardy.”

Glenn Morgan, President of CTC, will continue in his role after the acquisition, 

Coast to Coast is a partnership between Rogers Communications and a group of major Canadian magazine wholesalers. Originally owned by Maclean-Hunter, primarily to distribute its own magazines, CTC was purchased by Rogers Media in 1994 and in 2000, a majority interest was sold to three industry veterans, Glenn Morgan, Frank Auddino, and Scott Bullock. In 2005, majority interest in the company was purchased by a consortium of the major periodical wholesalers in Canada. 

Comag Marketing Group LLC, a retail sales and marketing company, provides single copy sales strategies and supply chain solutions for magazines worldwide. The company serves mass market, direct-to-retail, and specialty market channels.  Comag Marketing Group LLC was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey. As of January 31, 2012, Comag Marketing Group LLC operates as a subsidiary of The Jim Pattison Group, Inc.

In 2013, Coast to Coast outsourced most of its back-office accounting to Comag to handle all billing and collection, print order and galley preparation as well as other administrative functions. 

New mag Best Life from St. Joseph Communications carries flyers into mailboxes

St. Joseph Communications has tapped into the flyer business by creating a new distribution option that polybags flyers with a new editorial lifestyle magazine called Best Life. The company says people love their flyers; but the solution removes retailers from a cluttered delivery environment and gets their messages across a consumer’s doorstep via Canada Post delivery.

“We’re excited to present this new flyer delivery model for Canadian retailers that is cost-effective and provides a great consumer experience, tapping into Canadians’ affinity for flyers and high-quality editorial,” says Tony Gagliano, CEO of St. Joseph Communications. “Over the last 12 months, we have worked to develop and create the ultimate model that addresses what’s lacking in flyer delivery in Canada today: a compelling, relevant, targeted, differentiated, timely – and affordable solution.”

The first Best Life package will be tested with distribution in the London market on April 27.  

U.S. merger creates a new, combined Magazines and Books at Retail Association

Two important retail magazine associations in the U.S. have decided to merge. The new, combined organization will be known as Magazines and Books at Retail Association (MBR). According to a story in Folio: it combines the Periodical and Book Association of America (PBAA) and the International Periodical Distributors Association (IPDA). The merger was announced at the annual Magazines at Retail conference.

PBAA was initially a not-for-profit organization  whose members consisted of organizations that published and distributed magazines and books on newsstands, both in the U.S. and globally. IPDA was a trade association principally of distributors who focussed on retail sale of magazines and books.

Jay Felts, chairman of the IPDA board, and Will Michalopoulos, chairman of the PBAA board, said in a letter to members of both groups:

“Representing the boards of each organization, it is our promise that the new association will deliver focused, effective programs and services to all members, irrespective of size, and deliver solutions to address today’s industry dynamics in a manner that meets the speed of change. Together, all members of our supply channel will offer a fresh and strengthened voice for the industry—an industry association for our future.” 

Antitrust case brought against U.S. publishers thrown out

A group of large U.S. magazine publishers won a 5-year-old antitrust case brought by the now bankrupt wholesaler Anderson News LLC. According to a story in WWD,  Time Inc, Hearst Corp., American Media Inc. and Rodale Inc. had been sued for $371 million, for banding together to reject its increase in distribution pricing. Further, on appeal, Anderson alleged that the publishers had choked off its supply of magazines and, in retaliation, tried to force its warehouses not to make deliveries to them.

Judge Paul Crotty of the Second Circuit dismissing the antitrust claims and suggested that by trying to persuade big retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and The Kroger Co., to not handle magazines from the publishers' group, Anderson may have been the one open to antitrust action.

“If there were ever an antitrust case of the pot calling the kettle black, this is it,” Crotty said in his judgment.

Anderson had tried to increase prices to publishers by 7% in 2009 but the publishers pushed back, saying they couldn't afford the increases

Anderson then tried to “take advantage” of its controlling position in ProLogix East, a company that delivered magazines to retailers, by refusing to open its warehouse to make deliveries for Anderson News’ competitors, according to court papers. The wholesaler’s threat to stop deliveries was enjoined by a federal court in the District of Delaware, and when Anderson received word of the decision, it chose to go out of business. It filed the lawsuit shortly after it filed for bankruptcy in early 2009.

Magazine distributor Benjamin News is closing down by April

Benjamin News Group, which has been in the magazine and book distribution business for almost 100 years, will close down in April. The family-owned business, which is based in Bois des Filions, Quebec, was founded in 1917 by Charlie Benjamin, a blind news vendor who sold newspapers on Notre Dame Street in Montreal and whose grandson Paul made the announcement. The closure will result in 225 people losing their jobs.

"Quebec is probably the most expensive market in North America to distribute magazines and books. It has the lowest density,” [Benjamin] told CTV Montreal. “The sale of the printed word, especially magazines, has decreased radically."

He said that a variety of deals had been made to allow other companies to take over his distribution to 7,500 retailers in Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario. Benjamin handles over 4,000 magazine titles. 

NOW magazine will distribute 20,000 copies on the Toronto subway

NOW magazine, which has for several decades relied on street boxes and racks throughout Toronto's core to distribute its weekly magazine, has struck a deal with Gateway Newsstands. Starting January 23, 20,000 copies of NOW will be distributed at Gateways' 65 newsstands throughout the Toronto Transit Commision subway system. It will continue to be available free every Thursday from over 3,310 racks, boxes and newstands across the GTA, online at www.nowtoronto.com and on the iPad. 

"We are all very excited about this new distribution deal with Gateway, it's yet another way for NOW to engage with our dedicated readership base both within, and outside, of the downtown core," says NOW Editor/Publisher, Michael Hollett [in a release]. 

NOW Editor/CEO, Alice Klein, agrees saying "We are beyond thrilled to say that after 32 years of publishing NOW, our paper will be available in the TTC for readers to pick up and enjoy while riding the subway and going about their daily routines."

Magazines to play smaller part in profit of UK's largest newsstand distributor

The largest distributor of magazines in the UK, Smith News Plc (better known popularly as W H Smith, a high street mainstay) reports that is intends to reduce its dependence on newspaper and magazine distribution, though it accounted for three-quarters of its operating profit in fiscal 2012. 
According to a story from Reuters, Smiths said it expected that half of its profit by 2016 will come from books and educational supplies. The news sent its share price up as much as 8 per cent.
The company's diversification strategy is similar to that of rival John Menzies Plc (MNZS.L), which receives most of its profit from aviation support services, said the story. Smiths' newspaper and magazine business slipped 4.3 per cent last year, mainly because of poor magazine sales.

Magazines Canada outsourcing single copy warehousing to Tilwood Inc.

Magazines Canada, which provides direct to retail newsstand distribution to many of its members intends to outsource its warehousing and pick-and-pack operation to Tilwood Inc. of Brampton, effective in June.

It means that magazines using Magazines Canada distribution will be shipping draw copies to Tilwood rather than the trade organization's offices on Adelaide Street in Toronto. Client magazines will continue to deal with MC staff.

Tilwood is a marketing support, fulfillment, distribution, warehousing and data management company. Magazines Canada distributes member magazines to almost 200 retailers, and to wholesalers who supply a further 150 stores, including Chapters and Indigo.

Toronto Star and Globe and Mail form joint distribution partnership

The Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail have announced a partnership to distribute their newspapers -- and other print publications -- in Ontario. The partnership will deliver both the Star and the Globe to homes, businesses and retail outlets and will also distribute other newspapers and 3rd party products. The two companies will continue to operate separately in all other aspects including editorial, advertising, sales and production.

"We are very happy with the new joint venture with The Globe and Mail," said John Cruickshank, Publisher of the Toronto Star and President of Star Media Group. "It will allow both the Star and The Globe to bring together our distribution operations, resulting in savings for both companies and better service for our readers and advertisers."

"This partnership allows The Globe and Mail to benefit from blended operational best practices while still maintaining a direct and independent relationship with our valued subscribers and readers," said Phillip Crawley, Publisher and CEO of The Globe and Mail. "As our industry faces the reality of increasing distribution costs, this partnership model allows us to potentially expand our distribution footprint and implement consistent service standards across Ontario."

Both newspapers use adult independent contractors to deliver papers now. There will likely be the same sort of rationalization as took place in 2002 when major magazine wholesalers merged their truck delivery system into one fleet called ProLogix.

Interestingly, in 2006 a consortium of major magazine publishers commissioned a feasibility study testing the possibility of having their magazines delivered to subscribers in major urban areas (such as the GTA) via those same newspaper contractors. At the time, it was found to be too expensive. A year later, Rogers launched its own pilot project, but it was not ultimately successful. The partnership between rivals Globe and Star shows that times and circumstances can change, however. (Mentioned here before is the fact that I receive my copy of the Guardian Weekly delivered with my Globe and Mail every Thursday (better service than most GW subscribers get by mail).)

With the escalation of postal delivery costs, and this new partnership looking around for customers, some magazine publishers may consider anew how to get their issues into readers' hands in the most efficient and cost-effective way. 

The new partnership may also mean that some people who subscribe to both papers will only have one lout booming up their driveway at 4 a.m. and unnerringly throwing the bagged paper(s) against the garage door with the loudest possible bang.

Related posts:

• Postal back-to-work relieves publishers, but they need to be resolute about alternative delivery

Jim Pattison Group buys Comag newsstand distribution firm from Hearst and Condé Nast

Two of the pillars of U.S. magazine publishing, Hearst and Condé Nast, have exited the magazine distribution business and sold their share(s) in Comag Marketing Group (CMG) to the Jim Pattison Group (JPG)of Vancouver. It should have a major impact on the single copy sales and marketing business.
JPG is a privately owned BC-based conglomerate which owns the News Group, North America's largest magazine and book wholesaler.

The deal involves entering into a long-term distribution agreement with the two publishing companies and letting them concentrate on their core competencies, , according to a company release.The CMG headquarters will remain in Princeton, New Jersey.

"JPG's purchase of CMG represents a watershed moment to enhance the current supply chain model by properly aligning the economic models, which will better serve the needs of publishers, wholesalers and retailers. It is designed to migrate focus from inter-channel tension to a renewed collaboration with the retail trade on brand marketing and consumer promotion, ultimately growing the magazine category -- which is our overarching goal."

CMG has been jointly owned since 2000 by Hearst Corporation and Condé Nast Publications, Inc.providing sales, marketing and promotional services in the mass market, direct-to-retail and specialty market channels.

Hearst is one of the world's largest publishers of monthly magazines, with 20 U.S. titles and more than 300 international editions, more than 28 websites and 14 mobile sites and has published more than 150 applications and digital editions for mobile and tablet media.Condé Nast publishes 18 consumer magazines, four business-to-business publications, 27 websites nd more than 50 apps for mobile and tablet devices, all of which define excellence in their categories. The company also owns Fairchild Fashion Media (FFM). 

JPG is involved in automotive, media, packaging, food sales and distribution, magazine distribution, entertainment, export and financial industries and had sales of over $7.2 Billion in 2010. With more than 33,000 employees, the Jim Pattison Group is the third largest private company in Canada.

Cineplex mag to expand newspaper distribution in Montreal Gazette and Vancouver Sun

Cineplex magazine, published by Cineplex Entertainment, will now be distributed in two Postmedia newspapers  the Montreal Gazette and Vancouver Sun in addition to its insertion in the Globe and Mail. 

The magazine has a total circulation of 700,000, of which half will now be delivered with daily newspapers, effective with the February issue; 89,704 copies per month in the Gazette and 107,990 copies per month in the Sun. The rest are distributed in 120 Cineplex theatres across the country. The magazine has already been distributed through The Globe and Mail in Toronto (GTA), Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver.

 "Not only does Cineplex Magazine have the highest circulation of any entertainment magazine in Canada, but the increased newspaper distribution means we'll reach more Canadian homes every month," says publisher Salah Bachir in a release. "We're very excited about this increased presence in Montreal and Vancouver."

Cineplex Inc. ("Cineplex") is the largest motion picture exhibitor in Canada and owns, leases or has a joint-venture interest in 130 theatres with 1,352 screens serving approximately 70 million people annually.

ABC says publishers expect mobile to be a big part of their publications future delivery

The Audit Bureau of Circulations says that 65% of publishers anticipate mobile distribution to play a major role in their future success. That's up from 55% last year. According to a release reporting the results of ABC's 2010 survey, 37% of publishers expect mobile applications to contribute positively to their total revenues within two years. But 78% say they expect a mix of delivery formats and 78% say they didn't think they'd switch to digital-only delivery within the next five years.

Sway launches paid national distribution on newsstands

Sway, a controlled quarterly magazine for the black community, is branching out from the greater Toronto area to be distributed nationally.

According to a story in Media in Canada, the magazine will now be available in all Chapters and Indigo stores. It will continue to be distributed free in most of the GTA, but a cover price of $4.95 will apply on the stands.

British magazine distribution could do with some competition, report says

British magazine publishers and retailers may soon see greater competition in distribution of titles, after a ruling by the Office of Fair Trading (OTF). According to a story in the Guardian, it means that

Newspaper distribution will continue to be protected by an opt-out from competition law under guidance handed down today by the Office of Fair Trading.

However, the regulator said magazine distribution could work better if there were greater competition among wholesalers.

UK wholesalers now enjoy "absolute territorial protection" - ATP - giving them exclusive access to specific areas of the country, and retailers stocking newspapers and magazines cannot choose between different wholesalers. This has been justified because of the time pressures on daily newspapers and the same system has applied to magazines. (Compare this with Canada where magazine retailers have a choice -- albeit a limited one -- of distributors and wholesalers. Territorial exclusivity was essentially done away with several years ago.)

The OTF said in a report that magazine sales were not subject to this same pressure as newspapers and that there was "greater scope" for competition between wholesalers.It is now leaving it to publishers, distributors and wholesalers to decide whether the current regime is compliant with competition law. Spokemen for the magazine industry said that many weekly magazines are under the same time pressure as newspapers and should retain similar protection.

Time Out publisher considers going controlled, moving listings onto web

Forty years ago, Tony Elliott launched a weekly magazine in London called Time Out, chock full of alternative news and information and brimming with music and events listings, some counter-culture and some not.

It has spawned many imitators, including its own branded versions around the world (23 magazines alone or in partnership) and dozens, if not hundreds of imitators. It could be said that NOW and Eye weekly and similar publications sprang from the same era. Time Out has spun off travel guides to 120 cities around the world and runs major websites in London, New York and Chicago.

Now, according to a story in the Guardian, Elliott is seriously considering a move to shift the listings onto the web and publish the heretofore paid magazine for free in a slimmed-down version.This is an idea that may not be a million miles from the minds of other listings publishers; after all, the internet seems made for such searchable information and the downturn in advertising means that such listings mags need to seriously consider ways of cutting costs.

"We are in quite an intensive period of thinking and researching, certainly until Christmas, to re-plan for the future," he said. "If you've got a situation in two to three years where the main role that we play is online ... the question is what shape does the print magazine take?"

The Time Out UK website has almost 2 million unique visitors a month and perhaps 4 million across on online properties.

Elliott reckons there may also be a chance to make the magazine what he calls "controlled free", giving it free to people in specific demographic groups. Time Out New York Kids, for instance, is distributed free to the friends of the Museum of Childhood. "We are just thinking of all the options," he said.

Getting the cash together for his grand plan, however, may not be easy. "The mission today is still to remain completely, genuinely independent but it is absolutely true that every aspect of the business would benefit from having more working capital and it would make - I don't like using the word strategic because it sounds pretentious - but it would make strategic sense to widen the ownership of the business," he said.

"In a perfect world I would like this business to remain independent long, long, long term."

Canada Post intent on implementing distance-based pricing

(Even at the risk of treating readers like postal nerds and overloading them with the minutiae of postal policy and politics, we think this is an important issue for the delivery of magazines. So bear with us.)

Canada Post seems intent on moving to "distance based pricing" for Publications Mail starting in 2009, no matter what its customers say. Until now, it has cost the same to mail a magazine across the country as it did to mail it across town.

Already this year, Canada Post has laid the groundwork by requiring that publishers using Letter Carrier Presort (LCP) have had to declare local, regional and national volumes for their mailings.

The post office said customers would be allowed time to "assess the new structure" and therefore the earliest the new system would come in was 2009. Well, the customers have assessed it and they don't like it. But it looks like they're going to get it anyway. Magazines Canada is lobbying on this, but it is fighting a war on several fronts, given that it is also trying to deal with the jeopardy threatening the Canada Magazine Fund and the possible disappearance of the Publications Assistance Program.

Knowledgeable sources in the industry say that over all costs in 2009 are expected to go up by about 4% for regional and perhaps as much as 8% for national presorts. For every 2%, this increase represents about $0.01 on an average $0.50 cost of mailing a magazine. It shouldn't be assumed that this won't affect smaller magazines because some of them strive, against the odds, for every economy by trying to use the LCP presort.

The most direct impact on small publishers may well be to decide they simply can't be bothered with LCP anymore. Their often rudimentary software programs may not be able to provide the 11 subtotals necessary when filling out statements of mailing, so they do what -- start using a mailing house if they were doing it themselves? Switch to costlier NDG if indeed hitherto they were trying to prepare their own LCP mailings? Send everything out at the National LCP rates?

For larger magazines, the new policy would help some and hurt others; whether it is a wash for a big company like Rogers or Transcontinental is unknown. We somehow doubt it.

Magazines which already stop at sorting at the NDG level -- which already effectively is structured as distance-based pricing (cheap local, steps up for regional and national)-- are probably not going to notice as big a difference.

In the L/N/R formula, ostensibly created to more closely match prices to costs, there is no price reduction planned for low-cost "local" delivery, to offset the price increases for costly "regional" or "national", so it's just another way of increasing Canada Post's prices.

This creates a conundrum for some kinds of magazines. For instance, a company like Canada Wide (BC Business) prints and mails its magazines in Ontario, but delivers mostly to BC addresses. And should Toronto Life and Saltscapes, since they are largely regional, be expected to carry part of the load for The Beaver or Canadian Geographic, which have far-flung and diffuse circulations?

One of the bigger questions is whether printers/mailing houses will be adversely affected ... e.g. if Canada Wide has a good printing or mailing contract with an Ontario-based company, then will the increased postage cost under L/R/N pricing be significant enough to cause them to reconsider using a BC-based printer/mailer?

As an industry, magazines some years ago started taking for granted Canada Post's increased dedication to basing Publications Mail pricing on its attributable direct costs. Within living memory, the Publications Assistance Program (PAP) picked up the difference between those costs and a fixed rate per copy. But around the time when Canada Post started trying to analyse its costs more precisely, PAP also got changed to a percentage-based formula, with a sliding scale percentage relating to size of mailing. That put the onus on the mag industry to try and help Canada Post reduce the cost of mailing a magazine (and we stepped up to try and oblige), but it also means that nowadays, since Canada Post has decided they need to keep raising PubMail prices to maintain profitability by mail category, publishers take it on the chin each time.

(Of course PAP is under review and is probably going to disappear within a year as a separate support program...but that's a story for another day.)

It's not as though magazine publishers can respond to all of this by charging for subscriptions based on distance. We can't charge out-of-province subscribers more than in-province subscribers, so it's not like we can match our pricing with our costs either.

Related Posts:

• Meanwhile in the USA...
• Feds announce panel to review mandate of Canada Post
• Decline in general mail volume in U.S. threatens magazines hard-won agreement
• Radical funding overhaul by Heritage proposes merger of CMF and PAP
• Size matters -- too much -- in U.S. postal rates...

[UPDATE: Big changes at Canada Post [Magazines Canada bulletin to members]

Disticor Direct increases fuel surcharge for single copies by 20%

According to Magazines Canada, Disticor Direct, the distributor through whom Magazines Canada access Chapter/Indigo stores, has raised its fuel surcharge by 20%, to 12 cents from 10 cents per copy served. There was no advance warning; the increase was effective October 1 but MC is only finding out about it now. It has warned affected members that it cannot absorb the extra cost and will be passing it along by deducting it from forthcoming payments.

Rogers mags to test alternative delivery

Rogers Media is to launch a pilot project for alternative delivery of some of its magazines by using independent newspaper contractors (the shadowy people who drive around our streets in the dark of night making sure the Globe and Mail gets tossed into the juniper bush, just out of reach.)

Brian Master has been engaged as project manager, reporting to Michael Fox, Senior Vice-President Circulation and Development. Master was most recently Vice-president Circulation at the Toronto Sun after being VP Circulation & Sports Publications from 2001 to 2004 at Transcontinental Media and has worked in a variety of circulation management positions from 1985 to 2000 at Toronto Star Newspapers. As RMAD (Rogers Magazine Alternative Delivery -- the working title) is rolled out, a sample of Rogers titles will be delivered to business addresses by the contractors, as opposed to through Canada Post. Presumably,the pilot will test whether customers are just as happy to get their magazines one way as another; and the payoff may be significant savings for publishers who have faced steadily escalating postage increases (and steadily eroding postal subsidies)in recent years.

Rogers was part of a consortium of big consumer mag players who paid for a feasibility study on alternative delivery last year (with support in part from Canadian Heritage). While it was led by the larger players, the focus was on alternatives for the whole industry, including small magazines.

Rogers has offered to share what it learns in its own project.

Can Source be a supplier and a competitor, too?

Much muttering in the U.S. magazine business about Source Interlink's purchase of the enthusiast division of Primedia (see previous post). According to a story in Folio:, among the questions being asked is how can a major distributor impartially deal with its clients when it is one of their competitors? Part of the muttering is caused by the recent exclusive deal that Source Interlink cut with Borders (think Chapter-Indigo) that means competing books will have no choice but to go through Source to get shelf space in one of the biggest retailers in the country. Sound familiar?

Source Interlink, a major U.S. distributor buys Primedia titles

Source Interlink, one of the biggest magazine distributors in the United States, has purchased the enthusiast group from Primedia in what industry observers describe as "a stunning development". The effect is to transform a supplier into a major player in media, virtually overnight. (The equivalent would have been if Disticor or Coast-to-Coast in Canada has suddenly acquired the consumer magazines of Rogers Media.) An online story from Folio: magazine, written by its editor Tony Silber, said the deal was cinched with US$1.2 billion in cash. [A brief story also appeared in MediaDaily News.]

Source Interlink has been on an acquisition tear in recent years, mostly in its own chosen field; for instance, it bought Buffalo-based Empire News in 2004 and its purchase of Charles Levy Circulating Company in 2005 brought it to 20% of all single copy sales in the U.S. Based in Bonita Springs, Florida, the public company, also distributes DVDs, music CDs, and books as well as magazines and generated about $1.9 billion in the year ended January 31.

Primedia Enthusiast Media (PEM) is the leading special-interest magazine publisher in the U.S., with over 70 magazines, including: Motor Trend, Automobile, Hot Rod, Lowrider, Soap Opera Digest and Soap Opera Weekly, Power & Motoryacht and, Surfer and Snowboarder.

Source Interlink is controlled by Yucaipa Cos., a supermarket-holding company owned by billionaire businessman Ron Burkle. Last week, Folio: reported that insiders were saying the Burkle bid was coming on strong, although one source told Folio: the Burkle bid (mentioned to be in connection with American Media) was not being taken seriously. “It is a stunning development that a publicly owned distribution company controlled by Ron Burkle is buying one of the largest portfolios of enthusiast magazines,” one source said Monday morning. “It’s shocking. The valuation is significantly higher than they would have gotten from others.”

Indeed, Source Interlink also paid significantly more than sources in the last few weeks indicated the company might get. PEM, with revenue of about $524 million and EBITDA of about $100 million, turned out to command an EBITDA multiple of about 12-times.

To fund the acquisition, Source Interlink has secured a financing commitment from Citigroup Global Markets. It was unclear at presstime whether American Media was involved.

“Over the last several years Source has driven the consolidation of a fragmented and inefficient channel for the distribution and merchandising of home entertainment content at retail and the newsstand,” said Source Interlink chairman Michael Duckworth. “This acquisition is a first step to leverage what we have built by transforming Source into a fully integrated media company with both print and digital content. Primedia Enthusiast Media's industry-leading special interest magazine titles and consumer Web sites diversifies our earnings streams and accelerates our growth.”

Following the completion of the transaction, PEM will operate as a division of Source Interlink and will be headed by Steve Parr, PEM’s current president. He will report to Duckworth.