Access Intelligence said Tuesday that it will fold 18-year-old industry publication Cable World in December.
The magazine, whose previous owners include Paul Kagan Associates and Primedia, was founded in 1989.
Access Intelligence, then known as Phillips Business Information, acquired Cable World in 2003 from Primedia. That year, it converted the magazine, which was originally a weekly publication, into a biweekly.
“It is never easy to close a magazine, but after many years of tweaking and tinkering, we have decided to fold Cable World magazine and merge its signature issues into CableFAX magazine,” Diane Schwartz, vice president and group publisher of the Media/PR Group at Access Intelligence, wrote in a memo to staffers Tuesday.
According to BPA Worldwide, Cable World’s circulation in 2006 was 15,000, including controlled circulation of 14,705 and paid circulation of 295.
Schwartz said the move in 2003 to convert Cable World to a biweekly publication did not impact the company's decision to cease its publication. "It is more about how to better serve the cable community. We feel we can do this more effectively through CableFAX Daily, our Web site cable360.net, events, conferences and the expanded CableFAX Magazine," Schwartz said in an email to Multichannel News.
Cable World editor Seth Arenstein, who also works as editorial director of Access Intelligence’s cable group, and managing editor Steve Goldstein, will lead the publication of CableFAX magazine, which will publish issues six times annually, Schwartz said.
As part of the changes, Cable World staffer Shirley Brady will be leaving the company, Schwartz added.
Schwartz also said that Michael Grebb, who serves as executive editor of the company’s cable group, will oversee a “soon-to-be announced premium cable product.” Grebb will remain executive editor of CableFAX Daily, the company's flagship cable industry publication.
The last issue of Cable World will be dated Dec. 10.
Access Intelligence said it doesn’t plan to sell the Cable World brand. “We are not interested in selling Cable World, as we are integrating the content into CableFAX Magazine and serving those readers and advertisers via the CableFAX suite of products,” Schwartz said.
