NewBay Media LLC, a New York publisher of trade magazines including Television Broadcast and TV Technology, said Tuesday that it has acquired Multichannel News, Broadcasting & Cable and This Week In Consumer Electronics (TWICE) magazines and their Web sites from Reed Business Information-U.S. for an undisclosed sum.
Each title will continue to be published in NewBay's line of print, online, and in-person products and services, the buyer, owned by private equity firm The Wicks Group, said.
New York City-based NewBay's other titles include Videography, DV Magazine, Radio World, Residential Systems. The addition of these three brands extends NewBay Media's reach in the broadcast television and consumer electronics markets. Among other brand extensions, NewBay Media publishes the show daily at the National Association of Broadcasters' annual convention.
"We're truly excited to have the opportunity to work with this talented team and to have these market-leading brands join the NewBay family," NewBay Media CEO Steve Palm (pictured, r.) said in a statement. "This acquisition further demonstrates NewBay's commitment to our goal of delivering value to our advertisers, readers, and partners in these critical markets. With this acquisition, NewBay adds significant depth and breadth to its existing portfolio of broadcast properties."
Reed Business Information's parent company, Reed Elsevier said in July it intended to sell much of its RBI-US division, including Multichannel News, B&C and TWICE , after unsuccessfully attempting to sell all of RBI in 2008. These are the first magazines the company has been able to sell in the latest process.
RBI-US said it plans to retain some titles, including Variety and Marketcast. Meanwhile, it's been reported that Nielsen Business Media is trying to sell several of its business-to-business magazines covering media, led by The Hollywood Reporter and also including Adweek, Mediaweek and Brandweek. Recent reports have placed Lachlan Murdoch in a bidding consortium with News Communications, publisher of The Hill, for the Nielsen titles.
"We are pleased that our valuable brands have found a great new home with NewBay Media," RBI-US CEO John Poulin said in a statement. "We're certain that these titles will thrive under Steve Palm's capable and experienced management team. We wish them much success ahead."
In a memo to RBI employees, Poulin said: "Our colleagues at Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TWICE will remain at RBI as we work with NewBay Media to complete the transition. We wish these employees the very best as they work toward a bright and productive future."
The Wicks Group owns and operates several radio and television stations across the country. NewBay Media's brands are centered on five vertical markets: pro audio, broadcast and video, musical instruments, A/V-consumer electronics, and K-12 education.
NewBay publishes and produces more than 40 publications and show dailies, 50 Web sites, 30 daily and weekly e-newsletters, three Expos and more than 50 custom publishing efforts, annually. NewBay says it reaches more than 3 million readers in print and 1 million online and in person, in more than 100 countries. In additon to New York it has offices in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, London and Milan.
RBI-US and Reed Elsevier were represented by The Jordan, Edmiston Group.
B&C and Multichannel News serve the television industry with Web sites, weekly print publications, daily e-newsletters, and events. B&C covers the broadcast, cable, and syndication markets, while Multichannel News focuses on programming, marketing, finance, and more for the cable and telecommunications industries.
TWICE is the leading business trade periodical for retailers of consumer electronics, serving the market with a web site and a bi-weekly print publication, as well as daily and weekly e-newsletters.
