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| Time Warner may shed magazine division | Time Warner may shed magazine division |
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| Time Warner is reported to be in talks to shed much of Time Inc, the largest magazine publisher in the United States, which has a big division, IPC Media, in Britain. | |
| The company is said to be in early discussions with the Meredith Corporation to put most of Time Inc's magazines — including People, InStyle and Real Simple — into a separate, publicly traded company that would also include Meredith's titles, such as Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies' Home Journal and Family Circle. | The company is said to be in early discussions with the Meredith Corporation to put most of Time Inc's magazines — including People, InStyle and Real Simple — into a separate, publicly traded company that would also include Meredith's titles, such as Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies' Home Journal and Family Circle. |
| The People magazine franchise is considered to be the top prize in the deal. It is thought to be the most profitable magazine in the world, but Time Inc doesn't break out financial results by title. | |
| Time Warner's chairman and CEO, Jeffrey Bewkes, has been gradually downsizing the company. And Time Inc has been subject to recent cuts. | Time Warner's chairman and CEO, Jeffrey Bewkes, has been gradually downsizing the company. And Time Inc has been subject to recent cuts. |
| Two weeks ago, its CEO, Laura Lang, announced that it would cut nearly 500 jobs, about 6% of its 8,000 global staff. She explained that it was necessary to make the company "leaner, more nimble and more innately multi-platform." | Two weeks ago, its CEO, Laura Lang, announced that it would cut nearly 500 jobs, about 6% of its 8,000 global staff. She explained that it was necessary to make the company "leaner, more nimble and more innately multi-platform." |
| Within hours, the UK arm, IPC Media, said it would cut 150 jobs, 8% of its total staffing. It publishes some of Britain's best-known consumer magazines, such as Marie Claire, Ideal Home, Woman, Woman's Own, In Style and Now. | Within hours, the UK arm, IPC Media, said it would cut 150 jobs, 8% of its total staffing. It publishes some of Britain's best-known consumer magazines, such as Marie Claire, Ideal Home, Woman, Woman's Own, In Style and Now. |
| IPC Media's CEO, Sylvia Auton, said the cuts would be accompanied by "organisational changes" and sweeping changes to contracts for any new employees, with diminished terms and conditions, including alterations to maternity leave. It is not known whether IPC will be included in the deal with Meredith. | |
| According to sources cited separately by Forbes and in the New York Times, Time Warner would continue to maintain control of at least three titles — Time, Sports Illustrated and Fortune. | |
| There is speculation that Meredith does not want them. Time is expensive to operate and reported a 23.2% decline in newsstand sales in the second half of 2012. | |
| Bewkes is reported to have given a subtle hint about his strategy in an interview on CNBC on 6 February, the day that Time Warner posted net income up 4.6%, to $3bn (£1.9bn). | |
| When asked if he might follow Rupert Murdoch's lead at News Corp by breaking up the company, he told the interviewer: "It's always a good question… There's tremendous resilience in the national magazine publishing business, but advertising demand is secularly not so strong… The question whether we ought to put that into a different frame is one we've been asking." | |
| Sources: Forbes/New York Times | Sources: Forbes/New York Times |