Hearst completes acquisition of Rodale magazine and book businesses

HearstThe publisher Hearst has finalised the acquisition of global health and wellness content company Rodale’s magazine and book businesses, announced in October 2017. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

With 93 editions in 64 countries, Rodale is credited with having launched the organic movement in the U.S. in 1942, and publishes many established health and wellness lifestyle brands, including Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Prevention, Rodale’s Organic Life, Runner’s World and Bicycling. Rodale Books is known for conversation-changing titles including Former Vice President Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s Onward and Dave Asprey’s The Bulletproof Diet. Upon completion of the acquisition, Rodale’s multi-platform content business will be managed by Hearst Magazines, a unit of Hearst with more than 300 editions and websites around the world.

Hearst Magazines President David Carey 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.”

United States, New York, NY & Emmaus, PA

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Hearst Corporation acquires WVTM-TV (NBC) in Birmingham, Ala. & WJCL-TV (ABC) in Savannah, Ga.

Hearst CorpHearst Corporation has acquired Birmingham, Ala., NBC affiliate WVTM-TV, Channel 13, from Media General, Inc. and Savannah, Ga., ABC affiliate WJCL-TV, from LIN Media LLC. The announcement was made by Steven R. Swartz, president and CEO, Hearst Corporation, and Jordan Wertlieb, president, Hearst Television Inc. The terms of the transactions were not disclosed.

Birmingham is the 44th largest television market and Savannah is the 92nd largest.

Hearst also announced new management for the stations. Henry “Hank” Price, a highly recognised broadcast industry veteran who has served since 2000 as president and general manager of Hearst’s WXII-TV, the NBC affiliate in the Greensboro/Winston-Salem, N.C., TV market, will move to WVTM in the same role. His successor at WXII-TV will be announced at a later date. Timothy J. (Tim) Morrissey, most recently president and general manager of WCNC-TV, the Gannett-owned NBC affiliate in Charlotte, N.C., will become president and general manager of WJCL; the move marks a return to Hearst for Morrissey, who in the mid-1980s served as news director at Hearst’s WISN-TV in Milwaukee.

” Jordan Wertlieb, president, Hearst Television Inc., said. “Television stations with strong news brands attract the largest audiences. A dedication to quality local programming and community service will be our focus as we grow our audience in the region. Hank and Tim exemplify that dedication.”

USA, New York

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The Jim Pattison Group acquires magazine distributor Comag Marketing Group

 The Jim Pattison Group, a privately owned, Vancouver, BC-based conglomerate which owns The News Group, has acquired the national magazine distributor Comag Marketing Group, LLC (CMG) from Hearst Magazines and Condé Nast. Terms were not disclosed. Jay Felts will continue as president of CMG and the firm’s headquarters will remain in Princeton, New Jersey.

CMG U.K. is not part of the transaction and will continue to be owned by National Magazine Company Ltd. and Condé Nast U.K.

Michael Korenberg, deputy chairman of The Jim Pattison Group and a member of its Board of Directors, said, “This transaction will strengthen the newsstand channel and, at the same time, enable Hearst and Condé Nast, as publishers, to focus on their core competencies — editorial development, retail marketing and consumer promotion. We believe that with the strength of its management team and systems, CMG can consolidate and improve publisher services as well as add stability for all stakeholders in the single-copy marketplace.”

Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia & USA, Princeton, New Jersey

Immediate Media acquires You & Your Wedding and Prima Baby from Hearst Magazines UK

Immediate Media Co has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the magazine and website assets of You & Your Wedding and Prima Baby & Pregnancy from Hearst Magazines UK for an undisclosed sum. All staff working on the titles within the deal are expected to transfer to Immediate Media’s London offices.

The deal marks the first acquisition by the newly-created Immediate Media Co, formed out of the merger of BBC Magazines, Origin Publishing and Magicalia in November 2011. The company already publishes a parenting portfolio including Practical Parenting and Pregnancy magazine and the MadeforMums digital network, as well as bridal brand Perfect Wedding.

Tom Bureau, CEO of Immediate Media Co, says: “I am delighted that we have acquired these strong assets. They are an excellent fit with our existing brands and this acquisition is in line with our strategy of developing strong cross-media opportunities. The deal also demonstrates our ambition to invest in Immediate Media Co in order to create a fast-growing, dynamic business, and we look forward to welcoming the new teams.”

Arnaud de Puyfontaine, Chief Executive, Hearst Magazines UK, says:  “This deal reinforces our overall strategy to focus investment on Hearst UK’s core business and digital expansion, and we are confident this move will allow both You & Your Wedding and Prima Baby to succeed within the Immediate Media stable.”

UK, London