 Final logo used from 2009 to 2021 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| NYSE: MDP | |
| Industry | Media |
| Founded | 1902; 123 years ago (1902) |
| Founder | Edwin T. Meredith |
| Defunct | December 1, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-12-01) |
| Fate |
|
| Successors | |
| Headquarters | Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. |
Key people |
|
| Products |
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| Revenue |  $810.5 million (FY December 2019) |
| $37.8 million (FY December 2019) | |
| Total assets |  $6.727 billion (FY 2018) |
| Total equity | $1.097 billion (FY 2018) |
Number of employees | 7,915 (2018) |
| Footnotes / references [1] | |
Meredith Corporation was an Americanmedia conglomerate based inDes Moines, Iowa, that owned newspapers, magazines, television stations, and websites. Its publications had a readership of more than 120 million and paid circulation of more than 40 million, its websites had nearly 135 million monthly unique visitors and its broadcast television stations reached 11% of U.S. households. Since 2021, Meredith was absorbed into the new conglomerate,Dotdash Meredith, underneath the holding companyIAC Inc.[1]
Edwin Thomas Meredith founded the company in 1902 when he began publishingSuccessful Farmingmagazine.[2]
In 1922, Meredith began publishingFruit, Garden and Home magazine, a home and family service publication.[2] In 1924, the magazine was retitledBetter Homes and Gardens,[1][2] and the first issue cost a dime on the newsstand. In 1930, the company published the first edition ofThe Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. In 1946, the company became apublic company.
In 1970, the company attempted to enter the entertainment industry by purchasing game show and film producerRalph Andrews Productions.[3] Two years later, it became MC Productions, and Ralph Andrews bought back rights to the game shows later that year, which resulted in a subsequent lawsuit in the late 1970s.[4] In 1973, Meredith teamed up Avco Broadcasting to produce a series of nine prime-time television specials, whichAvco Program Sales is syndicating, aimed for youth children.[5]
In 1987, Meredith Corporation made a deal that they would purchase MMT Sales for $40 million, and would represent national advertising spot time on 60 stations across the entire US country.[6]
In 1994, Meredith andCBS struck an agreement to renew itsKansas City station and affiliate two of theBay City andPhoenix stations with the network.[7]
In March 2012, Meredith acquiredallrecipes.com fromReader's Digest Association for $175 million.[8][9]
In February 2013, Meredith discussed buying an interest inTime Inc. fromTime Warner.[10] Instead, Time Warner sold Time Inc. as a separate company.[11]
In October 2014, Meredith announced a 10-year licensing agreement withMartha Stewart Living Omnimedia of the rights toMartha Stewart Living andMartha Stewart Weddings magazines and to the marthastewart.com website.[12][13]
In November 2014, Meredith acquired mywedding.com.[14][15]
In January 2015, the company acquired Selectable Media.[16] Also in January 2015, Meredith acquiredShape,Natural Health, andFit Pregnancy magazines fromAmerican Media Inc. Meredith'sFitness magazine was folded intoShape, while both magazines' websites continued to operate separately.[17]
On September 8, 2015,Media General announced its intent to acquire Meredith in a cash and stock deal valued at $2.4 billion.[18] Pending regulatory and shareholder approval, the deal was expected to be consummated in June 2016.[18] The combined company would have operated under the name Meredith Media General, and be the third-largest owner of television stations in the United States—serving an estimated 30% of households.[18] To comply with FCC ownership limits, the company would have divested and/or swapped stations in six markets.[18] Media General shareholders would have controlled 65% of the company, with Meredith shareholders holding 35%.[19] However, the offer was countered byNexstar Broadcasting Group, who made a successful, $4.6 billion bid to acquire Media General instead.[20]
In February 2017, it was reported that Meredith and a group of investors led byEdgar Bronfman Jr. were considering another possible purchase of Time Inc.[21] On November 26, 2017, it was announced that Meredith Corporation would acquire Time Inc. in a $2.8 billion deal.[22] $640 million in backing was provided byKoch Equity Development, but the Koch family would not have a board seat or otherwise influence the company's operations.[23][24]
On January 9, 2018, it was announced that Meredith would launch aHungry Girl magazine on January 16, expanding from the online brand.[25]
On January 31, 2018, the company completed the acquisition ofTime Inc.[26][27][28] In March 2018, only six weeks after the closure of the deal, Meredith announced that it would lay off 200 employees, up to 1,000 more over the next 10 months, and explore the sale ofFortune,Money,Sports Illustrated, andTime. Meredith felt that, despite their "strong consumer reach", these brands did not align with its core lifestyle properties.[29]Howard Milstein had announced on February 7, 2018, that he would acquireGolf Magazine from Meredith,[30] and Time Inc. UK was sold to the British private equity group Epiris (later rebranded toTI Media) in late February.[31] In September 2018, Meredith announced the sale ofTime toMarc Benioff and his wife Lynne for $190 million.[32] In November 2018, Meredith announced the sale ofFortune to Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon, whose family ownsCharoen Pokphand, for $150 million.[33][34] After failing to find a buyer forMoney, Meredith in April 2019 announced that it would cease the magazine's print publication as of July 2019, but would invest in the brand's digital component Money.com.[35] In May 2019, Meredith announced the sale ofSports Illustrated toAuthentic Brands Group, for $110 million.[36]
Time Inc. Productions was renamed Four M Studios in May 2018. The studio is under Bruce Gersh, Meredith's president ofPeople,Entertainment Weekly, andPeople en Español and head of Four M Studios.[37]
In October 2019, Meredith Corporation sold theMoney brand and website to Ad Practitioners LLC, a media and advertising company based inPuerto Rico.[38] Terms were not disclosed, but sources said the brand went for just over $20 million, that was more than the $10 million Meredith was seeking in early 2019.[39]
In November 2019 the company unloaded one more asset acquired in the Time Inc. acquisition, its 60% equity ownership of digital advertising company Viant Technology Holding Inc. that, among other assets, owns social networking siteMyspace.[40] Also in November 2019, the company announced the launch of a new quarterly magazine, calledReveal, in January 2020 in collaboration withDrew andJonathan Scott fromHGTV'sProperty Brothers.[41][42]
On May 3, 2021, Meredith announced an agreement withGray Television for the latter to acquire Meredith's television division. The transaction will be structured as aspin-off of a new (short-lived) Meredith Corporation, containing the magazines division, to existing shareholders, to be immediately followed by the old Meredith (by then consisting solely of its TV stations group) being acquired by Gray for $2.7 billion in cash.[43]
Later that year, on October 6, Meredith announced an agreement whereby the company's remaining magazine and other non-broadcast assets would be acquired byIAC's Dotdash for $2.7 billion, forming a new entity calledDotdash Meredith.[44]
On November 15, Meredith announced it received regulatory approvals for both the Gray and IAC transactions.[45] Both deals were completed on December 1.[46][47] On February 9, 2022, it was revealed that six former Meredith Corporation magazines (Entertainment Weekly,InStyle, EatingWell,Health,Parents andPeople en Espanol) will cease having print circulation and switch to a digital-only format.[48]
Meredith magazines include the following brands:
Defunct magazines include
The broadcasting division owned 15television stations. Most of the company's stations were affiliated withCBS orFox. Meredith's broadcasting division also producedBetter from 2007 until 2015, which was originally conceived as a brand extension ofBH&G. Since its inception in 2007 the show has placed an increasing emphasis on celebrity interviews and music performances. There were also cooking demonstrations and regular features on health, beauty, fitness and fashion. Local versions of the concept continue to air on Meredith stations.[54]
On December 23, 2013, Meredith announced plans to buySt. LouisCBS affiliateKMOV andPhoenix independent stationKTVK for $407.5 million in cash fromGannett Company and Sander Media, LLC to satisfy a federal mandate that Gannett sell KMOV.[55][independent source needed] The purchase of KMOV was completed on February 28, 2014,[56] while the KTVK sale was completed on June 19.[57]
Meredith also struck deals to acquire ABC affiliateWGGB inSpringfield, Massachusetts from Gormally Broadcasting for $53.8 million[58] and Fox affiliateWALA inMobile, Alabama fromLIN Media for $86 million.[59]
The Local Media Division was sold to Gray Television on December 1, 2021.[60]
| Media market | State | Station | Purchased | Sold | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile | Alabama | WALA-TV | 2014 | 2021 | |
| Phoenix | Arizona | KASW | 2014 | 2014 | |
| KPHO | 1952 | 1972 | |||
| KPHO-TV | 1952 | 2021 | |||
| KTVK | 2014 | 2021 | |||
| Fresno | California | KSEE | 1984 | 1993 | |
| Hartford–New Haven | Connecticut | WFSB | 1997 | 2021 | |
| Orlando | Florida | WCPX-TV | 1997 | 1997 | [a] |
| WOFL | 1983 | 2002 | |||
| Ocala–Gainesville | WOGX | 1996 | 2002 | [A] | |
| Atlanta | Georgia | WGCL-TV | 1999 | 2021 | [b] |
| WPCH-TV | 2017 | 2021 | [c] | ||
| Springfield | Massachusetts | WGGB-TV | 2014 | 2021 | |
| WSHM-LD | 2004 | 2021 | [B] | ||
| Bay City–Flint–Saginaw | Michigan | WNEM | 2004 | 2013 | |
| WNEM-TV | 1969 | 2021 | |||
| Kansas City | Missouri | KCMO | 1953 | 1983 | |
| KCMO-FM | 1953 | 1983 | |||
| KCTV | 1953 | 2021 | [d] | ||
| KSMO-TV | 2005 | 2021 | |||
| St. Louis | KMOV | 2014 | 2021 | ||
| Omaha | Nebraska | WOW | 1951 | 1983 | |
| WOW-FM | 1951 | 1983 | |||
| WOW-TV | 1951 | 1975 | |||
| Las Vegas | Nevada | KVVU-TV | 1985 | 2021 | |
| Syracuse | New York | WHEN | 1954 | 1976 | |
| WTVH ** | 1948 | 1993 | [e] | ||
| Portland | Oregon | KPDX | 1997 | 2021 | |
| KPTV | 2002 | 2021 | |||
| Bend | KFXO-LD | 1997 | 2007 | ||
| KUBN-LD | 2006 | 2021 | [C] | ||
| Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | WPGH-TV | 1978 | 1986 | |
| Greenville | South Carolina | WHNS | 1997 | 2021 | |
| Chattanooga | Tennessee | WFLI-TV | 2004 | 2008 | |
| Nashville | WSMV-TV | 1995 | 2021 | ||
| Seattle–Tacoma | Washington | KCPQ | 1998 | 1999 | [f] |
Four M Studios (Four M), formerlyTime Inc. Productions, is Meredith's in-house production company and is under the oversight of Bruce Gersh, Meredith's president of People, Entertainment Weekly and People en Español.[37]
After attempting a few TV shows in 2014 and 2015, the company formed Time Inc. Productions in 2016 as its in-house production company.[66] It launched its free, ad-supported online video service PeopleTV in 2016, which got a pay TV deal by May 2018 withFuboTV. In November 2017, it launched its first over-the-top subscription service, Sports Illustrated TV, available via Amazon Channels.[37] On October 30, 2017, it announced thatParamount Network was partnering with it on two TV pilots.[67]
Time Inc. Productions was renamed Four M Studios in May 2018. Four M would expand from the Time titles to all Meredith titles and to freestanding lifestyle shows and scripted shows. Four M also announced at that time a deal withFreeform TV channel to develop Meredith magazine stories, includingPeople's "Heroes Among Us" franchise, into telefilms.[37]
Four M Studios partnered with Imagine Entertainment's Imagine Kids & Family division. Its first project from the partnership isLIFE for Kids, a children's TV show usingLIFE Magazine's photo archive.[68]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
