Meredith Corporation
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2010) |
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| NYSE: MDP | |
| Industry | Media |
| Founded | 1902 |
| Headquarters | Des Moines, Iowa |
Key people | Steve Lacy, Chairman and CEO Joseph H. Ceryanec, CFO John S. Zieser, CDO |
| Products | Newspapers Magazines Television Educational Services Websites |
| Revenue | US$1.47 billion (2013) |
Number of employees | 3,900 (2015)[1] |
| Website | www |
The Meredith Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, USA. The company has two divisions, National Media and Local Media.
As of 2015, the company employs 3,900 people. In 2013, the company had US$1.47 billion in revenues.
History
Edwin Thomas Meredith founded the company in 1902 when he began publishing Successful Farming magazine. In 1922, Meredith began publishing Fruit, Garden and Home magazine, a home and family service publication. Two years later, this magazine was retitled Better Homes and Gardens,[2][3] and the first issue cost a dime on the newsstand. In 1930, they published the first edition of The Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. By 1928, the company had combined circulations of 2.5 million.
The company went public in 1946 and was first listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1965. Following its initial public offering, Meredith began acquiring television stations, a strategy it has continued over the decades.[4]
Recently, Meredith has introduced numerous other female-oriented consumer brands and has expanded its reach, through acquisitions and strategic partnerships, to become the leading media and marketing company serving the adult female audience in the United States. The company has extended its media and marketing platform around the globe, through acquisitions and strategic licensing relationships. In recent years, Meredith has acquired allrecipes.com from Reader's Digest Association,[5] mywedding.com.,[6] Selectable Media,[7] and Shape, Natural Health and Fit Pregnancy from American Media Inc.[8]
In February 2013, Meredith and Time Warner held discussions on a possible purchase of Time Inc. to Meredith.[9]
On September 8, 2015, Media General announced the acquisition of Meredith Corporation in a cash and stock deal valued at $2.4 billion. Pending regulatory and shareholder approval, the deal was expected to be consummated in June 2016. 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. To comply with FCC ownership limits, the company would have divested and/or swapped stations in six markets. Media General shareholders would have controlled 65% of the company, with Meredith shareholders holding 35%.[10] However, on January 27, 2016, Nexstar Broadcasting Group announced that it would acquire Media General.
Divisions
National media
Magazines
Meredith magazines include the following brands:
- Ageless Iron
- Allrecipes
- American Baby
- American Patchwork & Quilting
- Better Homes and Gardens
- Country Life
- Diabetic Living
- Do-It-Yourself
- Eat This, Not That
- EatingWell
- Every Day with Rachael Ray
- Family Circle
- FamilyFun
- Living the Country Life
- Midwest Living
- mywedding
- Parents (and its Spanish language counterpart, Ser Padres)
- Shape
- Siempre Mujer
- Successful Farming
- Traditional Home
- Wood
Defunct magazines include:
Digital media
Local media
The broadcasting division owns 15 television stations. Meredith's broadcasting division also produces Better, which was originally conceived as a brand extension of BH&G. Since its inception in 2007 the show has placed an increasing emphasis on celebrity interviews and music performances. There are also cooking demonstrations and regular features on health, beauty, fitness and fashion. The program currently airs on 80 stations nationwide.[13]
On December 23, 2013, Meredith announced plans to buy St. Louis CBS affiliate KMOV and Phoenix independent station KTVK for $407.5 million in cash from Gannett Company and Sander Media, LLC to satisfy a federal mandate that Gannett sell KMOV.[14] The purchase of KMOV was completed on February 28, 2014,[15] while the KTVK sale was completed on June 19.[16]
Meredith has also struck deals to acquire ABC affiliate WGGB in Springfield, Massachusetts from Gormally Broadcasting for $53.8 million[17] and Fox affiliate WALA in Mobile, Alabama from LIN Media for $86 million.[18]
Stations are arranged in alphabetical order by state and city of license.
Current Meredith-owned stations
| City of license / Market | Station | Channel TV (RF) |
Owned Since | Primary affiliation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile | WALA-TV | 10 (9) | 2014 | Fox Cozi TV DT2 |
| Phoenix | KPHO-TV | 5 (17) | 1952 | CBS Cozi TV DT 2 |
| KTVK | 3 (24) | 2014 | Independent | |
| Hartford - New Haven | WFSB | 3 (33) | 1997 | CBS Cozi TV DT2 |
| Atlanta[19] | WGCL-TV | 46 (19) | 1999 | CBS Cozi TV DT2, Grit DT 3 |
| Springfield, Massachusetts | WSHM-LD (semi-satellite of WFSB) |
3 (21) | 2004 | CBS Cozi TV DT2 |
| WGGB-TV | 40 (40) | 2014 | ABC Fox (DT2) | |
| Bay City - Flint - Saginaw, MI | WNEM-TV | 5 (22) | 1969 | CBS MyNetworkTV (DT2) Cozi TV DT3 |
| Kansas City, Missouri | KCTV | 5 (24) | 1953 | CBS |
| KSMO-TV | 62 (47) | 2005 | MyNetworkTV | |
| St. Louis | KMOV | 4 (24) | 2014 | CBS |
| Henderson - Las Vegas, NV | KVVU-TV | 5 (9) | 1985 | Fox Escape DT 3 |
| Bend, Oregon | KUBN-LD (semi-satellite of KPDX) |
43 (43) | 2006 | MyNetworkTV Escape DT 2 |
| Portland, OR - Vancouver, WA | KPTV | 12 (12) | 2002 | Fox Cozi TV DT2, Laff DT 3 |
| KPDX | 49 (30) | 1997 | MyNetworkTV Escape | |
| Greenville - Spartanburg - Asheville | WHNS | 21 (21) | 1997 | Fox Cozi TV Escape |
| Nashville | WSMV-TV | 4 (19) | 1995 | NBC Heartland Cozi TV DT 3 |
Meredith also operates independent station WPCH-TV (channel 17) in Atlanta under a local marketing agreement with Time Warner subsidiary Turner Broadcasting System.[19]
Former Meredith-owned stations
| City of license / Market | Station | Channel TV (RF) |
Years Owned | Current Ownership Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | KASW | 61 (49) | 1 | The CW affiliate owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group |
| Fresno | KSEE | 24 (38) | 1984–1993 | NBC affiliate owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group |
| Ocala - Gainesville, FL | WOGX (semi-satellite of WOFL) |
51 (31) | 1996–2002 | Fox owned-and-operated (O&O) |
| Orlando - Daytona Beach | WOFL | 35 (22) | 1983–2002 | Fox owned-and-operated (O&O) |
| WCPX-TV | 6 (26) | 1997 2 | CBS affiliate, WKMG-TV, owned by Graham Media Group | |
| Omaha | WOW-TV | 6 (22) | 1951–1975 | NBC affiliate, WOWT, owned by Gray Television |
| Syracuse, New York | WHEN-TV/WTVH ** | 5 (47) | 1948–1993 | CBS affiliate owned by Granite Broadcasting (operated under LMA by Sinclair Broadcast Group) |
| Bend, Oregon | KFXO-LD | 39 (39) | 1997–2007 | Fox affiliate owned by News-Press & Gazette Company |
| Pittsburgh | WPGH-TV | 53 (43) | 1978–1986 | Fox affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Cleveland - Chattanooga, TN | WFLI-TV | 53 (42) | 2004–2008 | The CW affiliate owned by MPS Media (operated under LMA by New Age Media) |
| Seattle-Tacoma | KCPQ-TV | 13 | 1998-1999 3 | Fox affiliate owned by Tribune Broadcasting |
Notes:
- (**) WHEN-TV/WTVH was the only station that was built and signed-on by Meredith.
- 1 Owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting, Meredith operated KASW under a shared services agreement.
- 2 WCPX was acquired along with KPDX and WHNS when Meredith bought their parent company First Media,[20] but the station was swapped to Post-Newsweek Stations (former name of Graham Media Group) for WFSB a day later. Meredith never held control of the station.
- 3 Acquired solely to be traded to Tribune for WGCL.
Radio stations
| AM Stations | FM Stations |
| City of License/Market | Station/ Frequency |
Years owned | Current Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phoenix | KPHO-910 (now KGME) |
1952–1972 | owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. |
| Kansas City, Missouri | KCMO-710 (KCMO is now at 810 AM; 710 AM is now WHB) |
1953–1983 | owned by Cumulus Media |
| KCMO-FM-94.9 | 1953–1983 | owned by Cumulus Media | |
| Omaha | WOW-590 (now KXSP) |
1951–1983 | owned by E.W. Scripps Company |
| WOW-FM-92.3 (now KEZO-FM) |
1951–1983 | owned by E.W. Scripps Company | |
| Syracuse, New York | WHEN-620 | 1954–1976 | owned by iHeartMedia |
| Bridgeport, Michigan | WNEM-1250 (now WHHQ) |
2004–2013 | owned by Ave Maria Communications |
Business deals
Meredith Corporation has, through acquisitions and strategic partnerships, transformed the company into a "360 degree" media and marketing powerhouse serving the largest audience of female adults of any media company in the United States. John S. Zieser, Chief Development Officer, has led the company on these business activities, from the acquisition of the Parents, Family Circle and Fitness brands from European media conglomerate Bertelsmann in 2005, to the more recent acquisition of several digital and mobile companies which led to expansion of Meredith's high growth "business-to-business" Integrated Marketing division, to large strategic licensing relationships with Walmart and Realogy relating to the Better Homes and Gardens brand. John Zieser also leads and manages the acceleration of Meredith's consumer brands overseas, through over 35 licensing partnerships with leading media partners around the globe.
In March 2012, Meredith completed the acquisition of allrecipes.com from Reader's Digest Association for $175 million.[21][22]
In October 2014, Meredith announced a 10-year licensing agreement with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia to acquire the rights to Martha Stewart Living, Martha Stewart Weddings and marthastewart.com.[23][24]
In November 2014, a month after inking the licensing deal with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Meredith acquired mywedding.com.[6]
See also
References
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/22/business/media/meredith-publisher-of-magazines-lays-off-100-as-it-reorganizes.html?ref=media
- ^ "Miller Center of Public Affairs University of Virginia". American President Woodrow Wilson/Edwin T. Meredith Secretary of Agriculture. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ "NNDB". Edwin T. Meredith. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/meredith-corporation-history/
- ^ "Meredith Significantly Increases Its Digital Scale With Acquisition of Allrecipes.com, World's Top Food Website, From Reader's Digest Association (NYSE:MDP)". ir.meredith.com. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
- ^ a b "Meredith Adds To Growing Presence In Wedding Marketplace With Acquisition Of Rapidly Growing Mywedding.com Brand (NYSE:MDP)". ir.meredith.com. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
- ^ "Meredith Expands Digital Capabilities With Acquisition Of Selectable Media". PRNewswire. January 6, 2015. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
- ^ Bill Mickey (2015-01-28). "Meredith Buys Shape From AMI for $60 Million". Folio:. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) - ^ Lauria, Peter (February 13, 2013). "Time Warner in talks with Meredith on magazines: source". Reuters Group. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
- ^ "Media General to Buy Meredith Corp. for $2.4 Billion". The Wall Street Journal. September 8, 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
- ^ http://ir.meredith.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=653206
- ^ http://ir.meredith.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=883401
- ^ Pursell, Chris (January 2008). "Meredith Speeds Up 'Better' Rollout". TV Week. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
- ^ Meredith to Expand TV Portfolio with Deal to Add Stations in Phoenix, St. Louis, Meredith press release, December 23, 2013.
- ^ Brown, Lisa (February 28, 2014). "Meredith Corp. closes on $177 million purchase of KMOV". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved February 28, 2014.
- ^ Gannett-Sander Complete Phoenix Sale, TVNewsCheck, Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ^ Malone, Michael (19 June 2014). "Meredith to Acquire WGGB Springfield, Mass". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ^ Staff. "Media General, LIN Sell Stations In 5 Markets".
- ^ a b Swartz, Kristi E. (January 18, 2011). "Parent of CBS Atlanta to take over operations of Peachtree TV". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved January 18, 2011.
- ^ http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1997-01-25/business/9701241771_1_wcpx-meredith-first-media
- ^ "Meredith Completes Acquisition of Allrecipes.com From Reader's Digest (NYSE:MDP)". ir.meredith.com. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
- ^ Rubin, Ben Fox. "Meredith to Buy AllRecipes.com". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
- ^ Haughney, Christine (2014-10-15). "Martha Stewart's Magazines to Outsource Business Side to Meredith". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
- ^ Trachtenberg, Jeffrey A. "Martha Stewart Magazines to Be Licensed to Meredith Corp". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
External links
- No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.
- Agriculture.com portal by Successful Farming
- Better Homes and Gardens main website
