Sports Illustrated sold for $110 million to Authentic Brands Group

Sports Illustrated magazine, which Meredith Corp. bought as part of a deal with Time Inc.last year, has been sold for $110 million to Authentic Brands Group. This according to a story reported by AP.

While ownership will change hands,  Meredith will continue publishing the print edition and website under a licensing deal that lasts for the next two years.

Among other things, Authentic handles Frye and Tretorn brands and parts of the Muhammad Ali and Elvis Presley estates.

Sports Illustrated began publishing in 1954 and covers a wide range of sports as well as an annual swimsuit edition. Authentic says Sports Illustrated has an audience of more than 120 million people online and in print.

First Time, now Fortune sold off

Meredith Corporation has sold Fortune magazine for $150 million in cash in a deal that will close by year end. The sale comes just a week after that of Time magazine for $190 million in cash.  These two major titles were part of the acquisition of Time Inc. by Meredith earlier this year and the sell-off two other important titles, Sports Illustrated and Money, are expected imminently.  Meredith has said that it was in particular unloading four titles titles didn’t align with Meredith’s core audience of American women.

Chatchaval Jiaravanon, Thai business tycooon and owner of Fortune Media Group Holdings Limited of Bangkok bought Fortune as a personal private investment; according to a story in Media Post, he intends to grow the brand's digital capabilities, geographic expansion and editorial team.  

“Our vision is to establish Fortune as the world’s leading business media brand, with an always-on reach and global relevance:” Jiarovenon stated. He believes “the demand for high-quality business information is growing,” which will lead to profitable growth for both the publication and its events branch.  

Tech billionaire Marc Benioff and his wife Lynn Benioff bought Time. 

Rogers Communications seeks to sell 8 digital and print assets in a package deal

Rogers Communications Inc. is seeking a buyer for a package of eight of its digital and print magazine assets, including Maclean’s, Canadian Business, MoneySense, Today’s Parent, Hello! Canada, Flare and Chatelaine’s French and English editions − as well as its custom-content group according to a story in the Globe and Mail.

The company is looking for a comprehensive deal, including all of the publishing assets on offer, rather than selling them individually.

The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has been retained to manage the sale.

The magazine sale process comes after Rogers Media laid off 75 full-time employees in June, reducing the size of its digital content and publishing staff by a third. Rogers said at the time that the cost-cutting was designed to keep its publishing business “sustainable.” If a sale were to occur, Rogers would still be in the digital publishing business, largely with websites and apps related to its broadcast businesses, such as CityNews and Sportsnet. Rogers faces challenges seen across the industry, as growth in digital advertising has not been sufficient to make up for steep declines in print revenues.

According to information Rogers provided to potential buyers, the magazines had $12-million in print advertising revenue last year, and $9.5-million in digital ad sales; print circulation accounted for $16.5-million in revenue while digital circulation was roughly $600,000.

CPA magazine outsourced to St. Joe's contract publishing arm

CPA Canada has outsourced the publishing of its award-winning magazine to Strategic Content Labs, the contract publishing arm of St. Joseph Communications. 

The frequency of the magazine will be cut from 10 per year to six starting in May and it is said that the result will be more like the Harvard Business Review. 

Among the staff let go were editor-in-chief Okey Chigbo, deputy editor Bernadette Kuncevicius and art director Bernadette Gillen. Remaining are: Harriet Bruser, editorial assistant; Margaret Craig Boursin (editor digital editions); and Kevin Pudsey (associate art director), plus Alexandra Garant (manager of advertising sales).  

Torstar and Postmedia swap and close most of 40 dailies and weeklies

The news released on Monday about the swap of some 40 daily and weekly titles in Ontario between Postmedia and Torstar -- and the imminent closure of most of them -- is a tragedy for small and medium-sized towns and cities. 

While the acquirers/swappers can rationalize the outcomes as just business, local news and information is taking a real hit. This kind of sweeping consolidation means that local content will not be replaced and readers will be taking a hit, as will the people who have been employed reporting and producing local news. 

Torstar says it expects the deal will result in cost saving synergies of between $5 and $7 million. It is not known what savings Postmedia expects to achieve. The Torstar closures, which are effective immediately, will affect 46 full-time and part-time employees; a total of about 250 full- and part-time employees will lose their jobs at the two companies as a result of the transaction.

The usual recent excuse -- that printed papers would be displaced or replaced by online versions -- is not even being suggested; essentially, the casualties are being attributed to failing business models, where declining advertising revenues means the publications have outlived their traditional business models. 

The dailies  St. Catharines Standard, Niagara Falls Review, Welland Tribune  and Peterborough Examiner will continue to operate.  Some longstanding titles are likely going to disappear as a result of the swap, such as the Barrie Examiner,  Orillia Packet and Times, the Fort Erie Times plus several dozen smaller community weeklies such as the 150-year old St. Marys Journal Argus. 

The same fate is true of Torstar freepapers under the Metro banner in Ottawa and Winnipeg, which Postmedia will likely close in favour of their own free-circulation weeklies. Torstar has in turn acquired freepapers 24 Hours Toronto and 24 Hours Vancouver. from Postmedia and will probably shut them down. 

Hearst buys Rodale Inc. and its titles, including Men's Health, Prevention and Runner's World

Hearst has bought Rodale Inc. in a deal which is said to be less than $250 million. It's but one of a number of consolidations taking place in the industry.

Rodale publishes Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Prevention, Rodale’s Organic Life, Runner’s World and Bicycling. It also includes Rodale Books and an international division with which Hearst already has a joint venture. 

Critical to the deal was the assumption by New York-based Hearst of $30 million in unfunded pension liability and losses from real estate deals and vendor contracts. The deal may therefore wind up amounting to $100 million or less. 

One source characterised the deal as a “stunning collapse” of Rodale. The collapse is indicative of a broader change in the magazine industry, as smaller publishers, such as Wenner Media, are now closing or selling off titles.

David Carey, president of Hearst Magazines, said

“Maria Rodale has grown her family’s business into a peerless authority that reaches an enormous audience. Hearst and Rodale are already publishing partners around the world, including the U.K., the Netherlands and Japan, and we’ve seen first-hand how the content resonates. We are pleased to add them and all of Rodale’s brands to our vibrant and varied global portfolio, providing readers with dependable information and offering marketers unbeatable scale and a trustworthy environment in the increasingly important health and wellness space.”

Rodale, Inc. is open to good offers

When it comes to corporate euphemisms, seeking "strategic alternatives" is a dandy. In other words, we'll sell the the highest bidder, which seems to be the message being sent by Rodale, Inc., the publishers of (among other titles that were right up at the checkout) Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Prevention and Runner’s World plus a shelf of books. 

With a mixed menu of bodybuilding and fitness, personal growth and crunchy diets and wellness, the publisher was also always family owned and kept its revenue information private. It was believed that the magazine publishing and book business pulled in about $350 million a year (U.S.).

According to a story in Media Post, 

"If Rodale doesn’t receive a suitable bid, the company is prepared to continue pursuit of its long-term business plan, which has included aggressive cost-cutting measures over the last few years, including closing Running Times, taking Prevention ad-free and raising the newsstand price, closing its Grow custom content studio, and number of layoffs."

Pioneer online site Salon Media may be bought up by hedge fund

Control of one of the pioneering online publishers, Salon Media, may soon pass to activist hedge fund Spear Point Capital. New York Post columnist Keith Kelly reports that the 22-year-old venture has seen such declines in its revenue that its stock price has slipped to 8 cents a share (compared with its 1999 public offering at $10.50). It may make it easy pickings for Spear Point, which has been buying up shares in recent weeks. Salon was founded by David Talbot and a handful of refugees from the San Francisco Examiner in 1995 as one of the first entirely digital media outlets and has since been a liberal/progressive website with a reported audience that has grown to about 20 million monthly unique visitors.

TC Media acquires most of remaining Rogers Media b2b financial titles

Most of the remainder of the Rogers Media business-to-business titles have now been sold to Transcontinental Media GP. The transaction encompasses seven brands and associated events, custom publishing and market research -- largely in the finance area.

Properties covered in the deal (including all trademarks) are: Advisor's Edge and Advisor's Edge Report (advisor.ca ) Adviser and Adviser to the newspaper ( conseiller.ca and conseiller.ca/pme), Benefits Canada (benefitscanada.com and smallbizadvisor.ca) advantages ( conseiller.ca/avantages), Canadian Insurance Top Broker (CITopBroker.com), Canadian Investment Review (InvestmentReview.com ) and Canadian Institutional Investment Network (institutionalinvestmentnetwork.ca).

The magazines and other properties will now be part of a division including TC Media's other finance-related titles such as Investment Executive (investmentexecutive.com ) and Finance and Investment ( finance-investissement.com ) , The Business and The Business Plus - including Events Les Affaires - ( lesaffaires.com ) Acquizition .biz, Constructo Journal, (groupeconstructo.com ) and a management System for electronic bidding of the Government of Quebec (seao.ca).

Related posts:

• Most of Rogers's b2b titles now sold; a few titles remain in play
• Rogers Media goes digital-first with a bang in its magazine division

60 will be laid off at Rogers Media's French magazines by year end

As of December 31, 60 employees of  L'Actualité and the French versions of Châtelaine and Loulou will be out of work and only 20 employees will remain at the Rogers Media French language magazine division. 

According to a CTV Montreal story, the company, which announced in September that it was putting most of the French language magazines up for sale (and selling off its business-to-business titles in both English and French) is in negotiations to sell the well-respected newsmagazine L'Actualité. A deal should be announced within a few weeks.  

According to a Financial Post story, 

The layoffs also come in advance of plans to halve French-language lifestyle magazine Châtelaine’s print schedule to six issues per year, beginning in 2017. This mirrors previously announced changes to its English-language counterpart, Chatelaine. Both publications will continue to publish regularly through digital platforms. 

In September, Rogers said it intended to sell Châtelaine, but [Rogers spokesperson Andrea] Goldstein said the company has since reevaluated and was “able to create a model that could support the continuation of the brand in French.” 

Finally, after failing to find a buyer for women’s magazine LouLou, Rogers will close the English and French language versions of the publication at the end of the year. Rogers said it was unable to close deals with potential buyers who expressed interest.

Custom content company Totem bought from TC Media by Yellow Pages

The custom content company Totem, a division of TC Transcontinental, has been sold to Yellow Pages (the company which last May bought Vancouver and Western Living magazines from TC Media.)

A September 26 memo to TC Media staff said that 18 Totem employees located at 37 Front Street in Toronto would be transferred to Yellow Pages. 

"We believe that the new owner is well-positioned to run this agency and pursue its growth, since Totem is a complementary acquisition to the existing content creation activities of Yellow Pages and its divisions," it said. 

 Totem was at one time Redwood Custom Communications, Canada's largest custom and contract publishing company and was rebranded as Totem Brand Stories (the tagline later quietly retired) in 2010 after the company was became a subsidiary of TC Media in 2008 as part of its intention to expand its marketing communications offerings to clients.  Among its present and recent clients were CAA, Geico, Acura, Sobey's and British Airways. 

St. Joseph scoops two key players from ELLE Canada; Noreen Flanagan takes over at FASHION

St. Joseph Media has scooped two key executives from the TVA Group's ELLE Canada. magazine.

Noreen Flanagan, until now the editor in chief of ELLE Canada has been appointed editor in chief of FASHION magazine. She will be responsible for the brand across all platforms, including print, digital, social, video and branded events. 

Noreen Flanagan

Flanagan's tenure at ELLE Canada included being named editor of the year by the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors (CSME) and the title was also named magazine of the year for 2015. Among numerous innovative co-branded multi-platform initiatives reported in a release were ELLE Canada Closet and the first “shoppable videos” in the Canadian magazine market. She also launched the first live cover shoots, the first ELLE Canada drone fashion shoot and the first cover shot in virtual reality, all of which garnered international media attention.

Steven Kawalit is appointed to the role of digital director, women’s brands, overseeing  St. Joseph's portfolio of women’s brands across all digital and mobile platforms, including  FASHION, Men’s FASHION,

Steven Kawalit

Weddingbells, Mariage Québec, GLOW, Pure and Canadian Family. He had been digital director of ELLE Canada,  where he helped build a metrics-driven editorial team focused on using storytelling, digital analytics and emerging social trends as levers for audience growth. With over 10 years experience, he has conceptualized and implemented comprehensive online marketing programs for Microsoft, eBay, BMO and CapitalOne.

“We are delighted to welcome Noreen and Steven to St. Joseph Media. They will be integral to the transformation of our women’s brands, leveraging the insights and growth pioneered by Strategic Content Labs,” said Douglas Knight, president of St Joseph Media.

Both Noreen and Steve will report to Jacqueline Loch, vice-president & group publisher, women’s group (who herself only recently joined St. Joe's), and are starting with the company on August 8.

What would a merger of Xerox and RR Donnelly mean to magazine publishing?

It's early days to come to any conclusions, but a talked-about (talked about = more than gossip, less than an established fact) merger of the giant Chicago-based printer RR Donnelley & Sons with Xerox Corporation could have far-reaching impacts on the magazine publishing industry. 

The news lifted the shares of both companies. Xerox had a market value of US$9.6 billion and Donnelly US$3.9 billion. Both companies have been struggling with the disruption of the physical printing world as a result of mobile and cloud-based services. 

Donnelly, which had said it was planning to split its business in three publicly traded parts, has not done so yet. Xerox,best known as a virtual synonym for photocopying, said in January that it would split into a document technology company (printers and copiers) with $11 billion in revenue and a business process outsourcing company with $7 billion.

"The company (Xerox) been trying to turn itself around," said a story in Fortune, "shifting focus to software and services as corporate customers cut printing costs and consumers moved to mobile devices."

The merger would be likely to result in parts of Donnelly being folded into the two Xerox-derived companies. 

Emap magazine brand name in Britain to be retired as company goes digital-only

The Emap brand name, which has been prominent in the British and wider European magazine industry and particularly in b2b publishing, is going to disappear over the next 18 months as the company moves completely out of print. The Emap name had been retained to cover such b2b titles as Drapers, Retail Week, Construction News, Architects' Journal, Nursing Journal and Health Service Journal. The company publishes a total of 17 magazines. Emap had changed its name to Top Right Group after being acquired by the Guardian Media Group and Apax eight years ago. (GMG owns less than 33%.)

According to a story in Press Gazette, 2/3 of the company's revenue currently comes from digital and events and one-third from print; it had profit of £85.3m on turnover of £312.7m in 2014. Emap began as a regional newspaper group in 1947 and moved into magazines in 1953 with the launch of Angling Times.  Emap sold its TV, radio and consumer magazine business to Bauer in 2008.

The company said in a statement:

"As part of this watershed event for the group, the 4C and EMAP company brands are being retired as the company enters the final stages of its migration to a pure digital subscription and large scale events company. 

"The new business will help accelerate the conversion of former Emap products into pure play digital and event businesses. Glenigan, Groundsure, De Havilland and Planet Retail/RNG are already 100 per cent digital and events businesses." 

Top Right Group chief executive Duncan Painter said: "Customers are sending a clear message: digital subscriptions and live events are the formats they want to engage with. This change finalises our group’s migration to a digital and large scale events company.”

Murdoch's 21st Century Fox buying National Geographic

Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox is buying the venerable National Geographic magazine from the National Geographic Society. 

The not-for-profit Society has been publishing the magazine since 1888. It is to receive $725 million and retain a 27% stake in a new joint venture called National Geographic Partners, set up by Murdoch. It is not the first time the two have made a deal: the National Geographic TV channels have been owned and operated as a joint venture. They will be shifted into the new venture. 

Among the other assets being rolled into the new company, according to a statement, are National Geographic magazines; National Geographic Studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children’s media; and ancillary activities, including travel, location-based entertainment, archival sales, catalog, licensing and ecommerce businesses. The money from 21st Century Fox tops up the non-profit's endowment to more than $1 billion.

The company will be governed by a joint board, with equal membership from NatGeo and 21st Century Fox. National Geographic Society CEO Gary Knell set to be the first chairman. He said the deal will allow more money to be invested in sponsoring explorers and scientists. 

"The value generated by this transaction, including the consistent and attractive revenue stream that National Geographic Partners will deliver, ensures that we will have greater resources for this work, which includes our grant making programs.”

The additional resources will enable The National Geographic Society to basically double its investment in an array of science, research and education programs, it said. Plans include the creation of the National Geographic Grosvenor Center for Education, dedicated to improving the geographic skills of high school students, and the establishment of Centers of Excellence in Cartography, Journalism and Photography, which will develop and fund innovations in exploration, mapping and story-telling. The National Geographic Museum, thought leader forums, and related programs will remain under the Society’s purview, all with the support of a focused philanthropic development team.

Rupert Murdoch made his fortune in newspaper publishing in Australia, Britain and the U.S. and is executive chairman of News Corp. He is also executive chairman of 21st Century Fox , a media and entertainment conglomerate, among whose properties are Fox Broadcasting and FOX Sports. He is infamous for the phone-hacking scandal in Britain which wound up costing  him his largest property, News of the World. 

After 20 years, SkyNews magazine bought by Royal Astronomical Society of Canada

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) is buying the astronomy magazine Sky News,which for almost 20 years has been provided as a benefit to its members. 

SkyNews has been published by SkyNews Inc. since 1999 when the National Museum of Science and Technology, which launched it, sold it to editor Terence Dickinson and circulators Greg Keilty and Colleen Moloney. 

They describe it as "the only popular, English-language science magazine for adults published in Canada." It also publishes the website SkyNews.ca and a monthly e-newsletter. 

Keilty and Moloney are stepping down from their respective roles as publisher and associate publisher. Dickinson in planning to step down as editor next year, though he has agreed to remain as editor emeritus and continue to contribute his own column thereafter. 

"One of my distinct pleasures in the past two decades has been gathering an all-Canadian team of astronomy writers, photographers, illustrators, designers and editorial experts to steer a steady course for SkyNews," said Dickinson. "Our readers have supported us as the magazine has doubled in size since its founding. I am absolutely delighted that The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada will be moving into the driver's seat as we head into the next two decades."

 James Edgar, the Society’s National President said

“This is a monumental event, one that bodes well for our Society and for SkyNews,” said . “The acquisition of the magazine ensures that our long-standing relationship will continue far into the future, a relationship that we have seen increase in several dimensions over the past few years. This can only mean an improvement to member benefits, plus it provides a new way for us to grow our public outreach. We are most pleased that Terry Dickinson has agreed to remain with SkyNews as Editor Emeritus. His presence ensures that the flavour and thrust of SkyNews remains as a quality Canadian astronomy publication.”                             

Keilty said

“Launching a new magazine and finding the readers to support it is a gamble.... We were able to tend it and grow it and now it's 20 years old, already quite a long life for a magazine, and is now the only popular-level adult science magazine published in English Canada. Passing this treasure on to the RASC pretty well guarantees that SkyNews will celebrate a 40th anniversary as well.”

There were no financial details provided. Sky News's current circulation is about 25,000, published 6 times a year. Just under 5% of this is in the United States. Average single copy sales per issue in Canada total about 8,700.

The RASC also publishes a bi-monthly magazine called the Journal, an annual Observer's Handbook and Observer's Calendar, and a monthly e-letter called The Bulletin for members. 

Sale of Martha Stewart empire is the end of a 25-year publishing saga

The announced sale of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia for $353 million to a retail licensing company marks the dwindling end of a 25-year magazine publishing saga. Sequential Brands Group paid about 18% of what the company was worth when MSLO went public only 15 years ago. The transaction includes two magazines; the iconic flagship Martha Stewart Living, the foundation of the whole enterprise, and Martha Stewart Weddings, plus a number of branded home and lifestyle products, associated websites and various television extensions. 

The reasons for the sale are congruent with the problems that many large lifestyle and shelter publishers are facing. MSLO had been trying to morph from a publisher into a merchandising company, which (along with its knock-down price) probably made it attractive to the buyer. Declining publishing revenue in the first quarter of 2015 fell to $5.7 million from $19.5 million in the same quarter of 2014. 

The company had offloaded all of its publishing business operations to Meredith Corporation (Better Homes & Gardens etc.) last October, meaning that it handles all circulation marketing, single copy sales and ad sales (digital and print). Meredith has a deal that stretches out 10 years, during which MSLO is to continue to produce content. It's not clear what the new ownership will mean to Martha Stewart's role as chief creative officer or to the Meredith deal. 

The trajectory of Martha Stewart Living has been an interesting, if jagged, one. She first developed it for Time Publishing Ventures in 1990 and its soaring popularity, upwards of 2 million circulation by 2002, gave her a platform from which to launch a television career and a robust online presence as well as moving into merchandising deals. In 1997, she and a minority partner, Sharon Patrick, consolidated all the print, merchandising and television into MLSO, promising synergies and opportunities for line extensions, such as an online catalogue business, even selling flowers to consumers. Her dream and vision caught investor's attention when, in 1999 the company went public, making Martha Stewart a billionaire. She was lauded, and appropriately, for having built an empire from scratch, an empire for which she, her image, her style, her flair were the most important products. That was the top of the curve, at least as far as publishing goes.

Read more »

TVA closes deal to acquire consumer magazines from TC Transcontinental

The $55.5 million transaction was completed today whereby TVA Group acquired 14 magazines, 3 websites and custom publishing contracts of TC Transcontinental. As a result, the Quebec-based company now has 300 new employees and acquired the following brands:

• Coup de pouce
• Canadian Living
• Decormag
• Style at Home
• Fleurs Plantes Jardins
• Canadian Gardening
• Quebec Vert
• The Hockey News
• Condo Maison Direct
• Maisons Neuves Rive-Sud et Condos

TVA Group will keep a 51% stake in Les Publications Transcontinental-Hearst inc. which operates Elle Canada and Elle Quebec, in partnership with the Hearst Group which holds a 49% stake.

TVA Group and Groupe Bayard together hold 50% of the shares of Publications Senior Inc., that publishes Le Bel Age and Good Times magazines.

The websites acquired are: 

• recettes.qc.ca
• Quoi manger and 
• On the table 

Custom publishing from the magazines are included in the deal.

Transcontinental sells all its eastern Canadian consumer magazines to TVA

[This post has been updated] In what is unquestionably the largest change in Canadian magazine publishing in many years, Trancontinental Inc. has announced it is selling 15 consumer magazines based in Montreal and Toronto to Quebec's TVA Group for $55.5 million. It includes all associated websites and related platforms. Key to the arrangement is that TC Transcontinental Printing would retain the printing of all affected magazines through 2022 in an extended contract with TVA. 

The deal does not include the TC Media western properties such as Vancouver Magazine and Western Living. 

Magazines and digital properties changing ownership would include Canadian Living, Style at Home, Coup de pouce, Elle Canada, Elle Québec, Decormag,  Magazine, Magazine Véro, Fleurs plantes et Jardins, Quebec Green, Canadian Gardening, recettes.qc.ca,  and The Hockey News.  It means TVA assumes the 51% partnership share of Elle Canada and Elle Québec which it holds in partnership with Hearst Group. TVA Group and Bayard Group will each hold a 50% share in Publications Senior Inc., publisher of Le Bel Âge and Good Times magazines.

Subject to Competition Bureau approval, the change, which will have unknown effects on the jobs of 310 people. would see the titles of TC Media (English Canada's largest consumer magazine publisher) with TVA, which is the largest magazine publisher in Quebec. 

Francoise Olivier, the president and chief executive officer said the company is going to concentrate on local advertising, through its greatly expanded stable of more than 180 newspapers in Quebec, Ontario, Saskatchewan and the Atlantic provinces.

"In the context of the highly competitive magazine industry that is experiencing a proliferation of platforms and generated content as well as migration of advertising revenue towards digital media, Transcontinental Inc. has decided to sell its consumer magazines in Montreal and Toronto to the TVA Group whose platforms will enable the continued evolution of these magazines," he said. 

"Today's agreement creates twofold value for Transcontinental Inc., In one stroke we have also improved the book of business for our printing sector."

Transcontinental Inc. which includes four divisions (TC Transcontinental, TC Media, TC Transcontinental Printing and TC Transcontinental Packaging) had revenues of $2.1 billion in 2013.  

TVA is the television and media arm of Quebecor Media. The company said in a release it expects annual revenues of $10 to $14 million from the newly acquired magazines. 

"Print media is facing growing competition from digital media and new technological platforms," noted Pierre Dion, president and CEO of Quebecor and Quebecor Media. "And bear in mind that the competition notably comes from increasingly powerful foreign players. In this landscape, print magazines, just like newspapers, need to be consolidated to ensure these traditional media survive and allow them to compete with digital media." 

"This acquisition is in line with the Corporation's strategy of investing in the production and distribution of high-quality, rich, diverse entertainment and news media content," said Julie Tremblay, president and CEO of Media Group and TVA Group. "We are therefore very pleased to acquire these strong brands, which are amongst the most popular magazine titles in Canada, and complementary to those of TVA Publications titles." 

"TVA Group has extensive experience in magazine publishing. This transaction will enable us to capture significant operational synergies and secure the segment's long-term profitability and viability. We anticipate that after these magazines are acquired they will contribute between $10 million and $14 million to operating earnings annually," concluded Julie Tremblay.

Maxim sale to Darden Media Group may be in trouble

The announced  sale of Maxim magazine to the Darden Media Group may be on the rocks, according to a story in Adweek. The deadlines for closing the sale this fall have come, and gone.

Observers have long been skeptical about the value of Maxim itself. Maxim’s declining advertising and circulation and Darden’s plans to expand the brand to TV, radio and music platforms notwithstanding, Maxim remains a print-driven business, and keeping that going will require substantial investment. The 2 million-circulation monthly magazine would come with subscription liabilities—the cost to fulfill multi-year subscriptions that have already been paid for—which could run as high as $30 million.