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As we reported in October, TV Guide's prospects look as bleak as a Friends spin-off. The brand that Rupert Murdoch paid $3 billion for in 1988 was recently purchased from MacroVision (NASDAQ:MVSN) by OpenGate Capital -- for a buck.
At that, the venture capital company might have overpaid, since the magazine comes laden with up to $100 million in obligations. Worse, the purchase only included the paper version; MacroVision retained TVguide.com. On the bright side, MacroVision loaned OpenGate $9.5 million at 3% interest to help cover those obligations.
How does OpenGate plan to wring cash from this turnip? The magazine ad business has dropped severely as businesses segue to the Internet. TV Guide's circulation has steadily eroded as well, as viewers find more timely and user-friendly information on their cable listing channel or Internet sites such as AOL Television.
The bread-and-butter features that TV Guide dominated for decades, profiles of stars and peeks inside popular productions, have been trumped by shows such as Entertainment Tonight and magazines like People. In an age where consumers demand customized content delivered on the platform of their choice, by paper and through the mail is an increasingly unpopular option.
According to the New York Times, TV Guide claims to have turned a profit this year, which I view with the same suspicion as I do David Copperfield's claim to have disappeared an elephant. If this magazine isn't already Lost, it's one of my top candidates to be voted off of Survivor: Madison Avenue.
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Reader Comments (Page 3 of 3)
12-09-2008 @ 1:39AM
Mary Ellen said...
I just purchase the Sunday paper and use the TV section it it. Sure is easier to read and no ads to shuffle through. Serves my purpose anyway.
12-09-2008 @ 2:27AM
manifan said...
Count me in with the others who hate the new format. TV Guide needs to go back to what it was -- a guide for REGIONAL television stations. Where it helped me the most was knowing what morning and late night programming would be on locally. They have let themselves get too far into the hole to recover, I fear. But if they went back to offering regional instead of national television information, their subscriptions would increase.
12-09-2008 @ 2:50AM
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12-09-2008 @ 3:13AM
Dijon said...
The comments on this blog are correct. TV Guide went down when they changed its format, especially to the larger size, and it became a tabloid, and also I canceled my subscription after reading the results of the 24 series and other series (who died, what happened this week) sometimes before the episode aired. I preferred 24 on DVD and tried not to learn what happened...and there it was in headline print in TV Guide. It also seemed that they dropped all its best features. They just weren't in tune with the viewing public. I had been a subscriber since the early 1960s and have a collection of the Fall Preview issues dating back to 1961. I actually wrote them regarding these issues and got no response. RIP TV Guide.
12-09-2008 @ 4:57AM
Beatrice said...
They should have left it alone. I loved the original format and cancelled when they changed it.
12-09-2008 @ 5:51AM
jonnyD said...
GUYS guys guys
TV guide is no good anymore, When the switch to digital in feb 09 all those old people who refuse to get digital cable well be forced to, then they will get the on-screen guide and have no need for the "TV Guide" anymore
This economy is really bringing this country back down to a normal level, it was and still is filled with greed, I mean for gods sake anyone who's anyone owned some big company..gave the little guy no chance! not anymore its coming
12-11-2008 @ 1:08PM
Rob R said...
The current TVGUIDE is abysmal. It is virtually no guide at all for the pitifully few hours a day it covers. It prints too far in advance and is often not accurate. A few columnists are very good, but they have lost the "guide" aspect. The original TVGUIDE, which we havent seen for about 10 years, had incredible, rich, and detailed listings and program descriptions. It celebrated TV and was a form of history of the medium. The current publication is a mere shadow of a once great magazine.
1-02-2009 @ 7:21PM
Shema said...
Could there be a possibility that TV Guide will go back to the old format? That was the best. If you would, I'm sure your business will again boom no matter if your costs for it have to increase. The size and content were great. Now, awful. It's more of a tabloid.