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America's biggest magazine publisher just became Great Britain's biggest magazine publisher. AOL Time Warner yesterday announced a deal to buy U.K. magazine giant IPC Publishing for more than $1.6 billion. The deal gives Time Inc. control of the company that puts out such high-circulating titles as What's On TV, Woman's Own, Marie Claire and Loaded. It also establishes a major source of overseas revenue for AOL Time Warner, which has said that it hopes to be earning half its income from outside the U.S. within five years. On top of that, many also expect Time Inc. to use its new titles as launching pads for U.S. editions. Particularly ripe for cloning may be Loaded, a raunchy men's magazine of a type that has already proved enormously popular in the U.S.
FCC to Murdoch: Yeah, just keep it all
It doesn't take a mind reader to know what Rupert Murdoch's thinking right now: What a country! That's thanks to the Federal Communications Commission, which yesterday ruled in favor of allowing Murdoch's News Corp. to move ahead with its acquisition of 10 Chris-Craft-owned television stations virtually unhindered. Once the $5.35 million acquisition is complete, News Corp. will be the largest station group in the country, reaching 41 percent of all viewers--well in excess of the 35 percent market cap mandated by existing regulations. The FCC gave News Corp. 12 months to come into compliance, but many expect that the cap will be lifted before that period is up, with a federal court in Washington now weighing a challenge to the rule. The 3 to 2 vote, which pitted Republicans against Democrats, also clears the way for Murdoch to increase his clout in New York City, where he already owns a daily newspaper, the New York Post; and a television station, WNYW/Channel 5. Adding another station in New York required Murdoch to obtain additional waivers exempting him from rules barring dual-station ownership and cross-ownership of a TV station and a newspaper, which the commission granted him. Following the acquisition, News Corp. will also own two stations in Los Angeles, Phoenix and Salt Lake City, though it will have to divest one of its stations in the latter.
AT&T and AOL talking cable merger
Cable giants AT&T Broadband and AOL Time Warner Inc. are talking about tying the knot, a move that would create a mammoth conglomeration of the nation's No. 1 and No. 2 cable operators. After rejecting Comcast Corp.’s $40 billion hostile takeover bid a week ago, saying it did not reflect the “full value” of its cable offerings, AT&T has reportedly entered discussions with AOL on a merger which would involve AT&T spinning off its cable division as an independent company and merge it with AOL. The deal would land AT&T shareholders ownership of more than 50 percent of the new behemoth, while AOL would acquire 45 percent and secure operating control. But such a union would surely face harsh scrutiny by antitrust regulators, even given the body's merger-friendly leanings under new chairman Michael Powell, and despite a recent court decision easing federal limits on market share monopolies. Talks are still preliminary and AT&T is likely to explore options with several other companies, but AOL seems to be the only one capable of effectively countering Comcast’s bid in the event of an auction of AT&T Broadband.
ABC's 'Wife & Kids' takes 18-49s
ABC’s midseason show "My Wife & Kids" proved again last night to be the network’s biggest comedy hit in over a year. Two repeat episodes of the show easily won the 8:00 p.m. hour with an average adult 18-49 rating of 3.5. The second episode was the single highest-rated show for the night with a 3.7, although the second half-hour of NBC’s "Law & Order" had a 3.8 later in the night. ABC averaged a 3.2 rating in the demo for the night. The Drew Carey Show" and "Spin City" in the 9:00 p.m. hour also won their time slots. "Vanished" at 10:00 p.m. came in second place. Fox had a 2.9, NBC had a 2.7, and CBS had a 2.3. Meanwhile, CBS was No. 1 in household ratings and won every half-hour until 10:00 p.m. with "60 Minutes II" and the first half of the movie, "Replacing Dad." CBS had a 6.7 household rating and 12 share, based on Nielsen fast nationals. NBC had a 5.6/10, ABC had a 5.1/9, and Fox had a 3.8/7. Meanwhile, a mix of original and reality programs made the competition for the adult 18-49 rating especially tight on Tuesday. Fox ultimately came out ahead with a 3.3 and a slim one-tenth of a rating point margin. But each of the networks won at least one half-hour in the demo, except for CBS. ABC and NBC tied with a 3.2 and CBS had a 2.6. CBS’s "Big Brother 2" came in second place against NBC’s "Spy TV" in its first half-hour and a celebrity special of "Millionaire" on ABC in its second half. The network stumbled with "JAG" and "Judging Amy." Both came in last place in their time slots. NBC went from No. 1 at 8 p.m. with "Spy TV" to No. 4 at 8:30 p.m. with the premiere of "The Downer Channel." That show lost 12 percent of its lead-in rating. Fox had more success with the premiere of the limited-run, reality show, "Murder in Small Town X," at 9 p.m. That show averaged a 3.6 and won its hour and improved on "The Simpsons’" lead-in rating by 18 percent. ABC was No. 1 in households with a 6.7 rating and 12 share, based on Nielsen fast national ratings. NBC had a 5.4/9, CBS had a 5.3/9, and Fox had a 4.4/8.
Ziff Davis shutters money-losing Family PC
Family PC was all set to relaunch as Family Internet Life this fall, but instead of rebirth the all-ages tech title will get early retirement. Ziff Davis Media has suspended publication of the 700,000-circulation title with the September issue, saying only that Family PC was losing money and was likely to continue doing so. Most of the magazine's 25 employees will lose their jobs. The closure lends weight to a report earlier this week that Ziff Davis has been looking to sell off its consumer titles, which include Family PC, Yahoo! Internet Life and the year-old Expedia Travels. Advertising in both Family PC and Yahoo! Internet Life has been off steeply this year.
Advertisers testify against accountability bill
The Association of National Advertisers has joined with other groups, including the Creative Coalition, in opposing on First Amendment grounds federal legislation that would allow the FTC to punish the entertainment industry for advertising adult material to minors. In a Senate committee hearing yesterday, opponents of the bill, called the Media Marketing Accountability Act, called attention to how it restricts advertising to any group that includes large groups of kids under 17, even if a majority of that audience is adults. This would make it impossible to market adult fare in most primetime and major magazines, a move which they argue defies the First Amendment and is thus unconstitutional. A recent court decision in Massachusetts used similar grounds to strike down an effort to restrict certain outdoor tobacco advertising. The Federal Trade Commission will issue another report this fall on the progress made by the entertainment industry in curtailing its allegedly deceptive marketing. Further signs of progress could forestall drastic measures by Congress and dissipate public interest in the issue.
Yep, another arrest record for 'Big Bro' player
CBS was embarrassed enough last week when "Big Brother” contestant Justin Sebik’s assault charges came to light. Now the muckraking web site TheSmokingGun has uncovered the criminal record of another of the reality show’s contestants. “Big Brother 2” cast member Mike Malin pleaded no contest in 1997 to charges including criminal trespassing and using false identification. Malin, who was going by the name Michael Carri, reportedly snuck illegally onto the Warner Brothers Pictures lot and took photographs of the set for the movie “Batman and Robin” without permission, evidently intending to sell them to “Inside Edition.” CBS executives said they had knowledge of the incident before “Big Brother 2” went on the air, but had dismissed it as a prank. In a July 24 news conference that took place before Malin’s criminal record was revealed, CBS Television President Leslie Moonves told reporters that it was “way too premature” to decide whether the network will bring the show back for another season. Sebik was tossed off the show last week after holding a knife to the throat of a female cast mate in what he later tried to dismiss as a joke. It emerged afterwards that Sebik had been charged with assault and theft in his hometown of Bayonne, N.J.
July 26, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
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