The big magazine news is the plan by Time Warner Inc. to sell off the majority of its magazine brands to Meredith. "The deal under consideration is one of several options Time Warner is exploring to reduce its troubled publishing unit. As part of the agreement, existing shareholders in Time Warner and Meredith would receive stakes in the new venture." Titles that would stay with Time Warner include its flagship brand Time, Fortune, and Sports Illustrated.
It certainly indicates that Time Warner no longer sees any synergy between its magazine group and its television team. Despite the need for magazine brands to become more interactive and add video to its online components, the transition of print to digital has been a difficult one for revenue monetization. Those that can hang through it will indeed find future revenue growth from digital subscriptions and ad revenue. Where Time Warner is shedding these titles, Meredith still has faith that their is opportunity ahead.
So without a powerful Time, Inc. in the businesses of Time Warner, is it time to rename the corporation to reflect a larger reliance on film and television. Is it time for them to once again raise up their Warner Bros. business to be the official corporate name of the company? With this spin off of Time Inc, it might just be the time.
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