It is with enormous sadness that we record the death of Terry Mansfield, one of the giants of the UK magazine industry, at the age of 81. He had contracted the Covid-19 virus and passed away yesterday (28 March). It is just a year since Hearst Corp celebrated Mansfield’s 50 years with the company, 20…
Why all media must ‘reset’
The Coronavirus COVID-19 is biting hard into revenues right across the media market, nowhere more so than in trade shows which – lest we forget – have been among the best performers for the past decade, growing annual revenue at an average of 6%. According to Events Intelligence, a total of 1,401 exhibitions in 82…
Why ‘all you can read’ is now a core business
The Coronavirus will accelerate the digitalisation of the media marketplace, especially in publishing. With many consumers confined to their homes, we should expect an increasing number of newspapers and magazines to go all-digital. It might almost become something of a catch-up for print-centric media which has watched music and movie consumers move from pay-per-instalment models…
Bauer seals Pacific deal and…
The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) yesterday approved the bid by Bauer Media Australia to acquire its nearest rival, Pacific Magazines in a A$46.6m deal which is expected to complete by April 9. The fact that the Coronavirus has intervened means Bauer (which is contractually bound to complete the acquisition) is paying much more…
Bloomsbury buys Zed Books
Bloomsbury Publishing plc, the listed UK publisher of Harry Potter, has acquired the assets of Zed Books, of London, publisher of academic and non-fiction titles. Bloomsbury paid an initial £875k in cash, with a further £875k payable within a year. Zed will bring £0.8m in revenue to Bloomsbury, with profit expected in Year 2. It…
DivCom buys energy show
The acquisitive Diversified Communications (DivCom), of the US, has acquired the Energy Storage North America (ESNA) trade show from ESNA EXPO LLC. The event will be co-located with Intersolar North America at the Long Beach Convention Centre, in California, in January 2020. DivCom is a family-owned B2B media company based in Portland, Maine, which formerly owned…
NY Times buys audio app
The New York Times has bought subscription app Audm, a startup that turns news journalism into audio content. While read-it-later services like Instapaper and Pocket also turn news into audio, Audm is distinctive because it uses professional voice actors, not automated voice technology. The app was launched in 2016 by Ryan Wegner and Christian Brink…
Shard acquires finance event
Shard Media Group, UK publisher of digital media brands Credit Strategy, Reward Strategy, Turnaround, and Restructuring & Insolvency News, has acquired the seven-year-old Financial Services Expo (FSE) from founder James Prosser (ex Clarion Events and Incisive Media). Terms of the deal were not disclosed. FSE had been operating 3-4 events in UK cities but (according to…
US online car auction sold
The $7.5bn Chinese digital classifieds company 58.com Inc (listed in the US) is to buy Uxin Limited’s online B2B car auction business from the US car dealer for $105m. The deal is expected to complete in June. Beijing-based 58.com raised $187m at IPO in 2013.
Time for creativity in the crisis
It’s a frightening time for people and companies everywhere. The Coronavirus crisis has also prompted high levels of community engagement and booming audiences for streaming, broadcast and all things digital. New alliances, friends and partners A large number of people are confined to their homes. Media and information companies, large and small, might seek to be:…
