Magazine Rivals Team Up to Work On Digital Format

Some of the biggest names in the magazine industry are set to form a new company to prepare magazines for the digital age, according to the Observer.

The company would make up one of the biggest alliances among rival publishers ever formed in print media, with Time Inc., Condé Nast and Hearst all expected to join, houses that together publish more than 50 magazines, including The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Vogue, Time, People, Sports Illustrated, Esquire and O, The Oprah Magazine.


The company will create magazines that will work on various digital platforms such as the iPhone, BlackBerry, and others. Rather then selling an ebook the company is planning a store where you can buy specific iterations of the title.

John Squires, an executive vice president at Time Inc., is planning to leave Time Inc. and become the interim executive of the new company, sources told The Observer. His term is expected to be six months, during which time the group will search for a permanent executive. The deal is not done, but if all goes according to plan, the company could be announced within weeks, and other publishers may join in as well.

"It's very close and more imminent than it's been," said one source familiar with the situation.

"With magazines, the form has to change," said Squires. "All I'm saying is that there are ways to design magazines differently for that kind of experience that'll be attractive and will feel different to a consumer."