"BBC Worldwide and Exponent Private Equity ("Exponent") today announce that they have signed a sale and licensing agreement for the publication of titles currently published by BBC Magazines, BBC Worldwide's consumer magazines business. Under the terms of the deal Exponent will acquire, in full, Radio Times and a number of magazines less closely aligned to the BBC, as well as the rights to publish BBC-branded titles under licensing and contract arrangements."

More information can be found here:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/bbcworldwide/worldwidestories/pressreleases/201...


and here:-

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/aug/16/bbc-completes-magazines-sell-off


"BBC Worldwide has agreed the sale of its magazine business, which publishes titles including Top Gear and Radio Times, for £121m.

Exponent, owner of online media jobs service Gorkana and former owner of the Times Educational Supplement, has acquired the lion's share of BBC Magazines. It is taking over all Worldwide's non-BBC-branded magazines outright as well as the rights to publish BBC-branded titles including Top Gear in a licensing and contract publishing deal.

The deal will see the 34 magazines published by BBC Magazines move to Exponent.

Radio Times, which the BBC has published since 1923, will be among those sold outright along with a number of other titles deemed to be "less closely aligned to the BBC" such as Olive and Gardens Illustrated."

And here:-
http://paidcontent.co.uk/article/419-bbc-bows-out-of-print-for-121-million-sells...

"Finally, closure on the long-running question of what would happen to the BBC‘s magazine business, the biggest publisher of subscription magazines in the UK: commercial division BBC Worldwide has agreed on a multi-faceted sale of its assets, covering 34 magazine titles, to the private equity group Exponent. BBCWW has also agreed to sell its 50-percent stake in its publishing JV in India, Worldwide Media, to another shareholder—Bennett, Coleman and Co., owner of the Times of India. The total value of these transactions is £121 million ($198 million)." ..

.." Magazines aligned to “key brands.” These include Top Gear (which is actually a TV show but has spawned a number of other ventures eg on mobile), Good Food and Lonely Planet. These are going to be retained by BBC Worldwide but published by Exponent under contract publishing arrangements."

Well, the Radio Times has become more like a comic in recent years - all design over content.  I never buy it now. The Daily Mail's Weekend guide is a better example of how to get information across in an attractive way without being swamped by design whizzery.

Oh dear. Where am I going to order my Thermal Underwear and garden sheds from now?

double-vision wrote on Aug 17^th, 2011, 12:23pm:



I remember that..College Milton.  
Many years ago I went on a couple of courses there. A lot of my recording operations collegues did stints in east Kilbride over the years. I suppose its gone now as well.