Time Warner To Dump All Magazine Titles

Time Warner is now seeking to sell off all of its most iconic magazine titles, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

The media conglomerate was already in talks with fellow publisher Meredith about selling most of the titles in its Time Inc. stable, but Time Warner was said to be keeping a hold on four major brands: Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and Money.

Now, the Times' Amy Chozick and Christine Haughney wrote, Time Warner wants to dispense with those too:

Time Warner still wants to complete the deal, but if talks fall through, the media giant could spin off Time Inc. on its own, without a partner, or keep its 21 magazines, the people said.

Time Warner had considered keeping the four news and sports magazines, which executives originally believed have synergies with its CNN cable channel. But the thinking on the magazines, which like the rest of the industry have faced industry-wide downturns in revenue, has changed, these people said. Read more >>

Magazine Sales Fall 10%

Source
U.S. magazine sales fell nearly 10% in the first half of 2012, a troubling sign for print publishers that suggests Americans are still being careful about discretionary spending.

The Audit Bureau of Circulations said Tuesday that overall circulation, including subscriptions, was just about flat. But single-copy sales, which are more closely watched -because publishers make more money from them- continued to fall. Subscriptions are typically sold at a discount.

The industry group says single-copy sales at newsstands and other retailers totaled 26.4 million in the first six months of 2012. That's down from 29.1 million in the same period in 2011. Cosmopolitan was still the top-selling magazine at newsstands.