Reader’s Digest Asia and Discovery Networks Asia have teamed up to launch Discovery Channel Magazine.
The bimonthly title will be distributed mainly in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines. The first edition is slated to hit newsstands February 22, 2008, with an initial circulation of 100,000. It will also be available by subscription.
Secondary markets for Discovery Channel Magazine include China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The magazine, which will be based in Singapore, will hit other Asian markets later in 2008.
Discovery Networks executives believe that the magazine is a natural extension of the brand. They also cited new advertising capabilities as a reason for launching Discovery Channel Magazine.
“We are now also able to offer our advertisers a fully integrated campaign, incorporating on-air, online, on-ground and print, with a regional platform to reach a broad base of affluent readers across Asia Pacific,” Tom Keaveny, EVP and managing director, Discovery Networks Asia, said in a statement.
Jim Plouffe, editor in chief of the English edition of Reader’s Digest in Asia, will take charge of Discovery Channel Magazine, overseeing a team of writers and designers culled from the Reader’s Digest staff.
Content in the magazine will be closely tied to Discovery Networks’ other offerings, focusing on Discovery mainstays like science, technology, animals, the natural world and history. Concise articles, built around high-quality visuals, will form the basic structure of the magazine.
Discovery Channel Magazine will retail for S$7.90 in Singapore, with a discount offered to yearly subscribers.
Consumer research and tests were performed before the launch of Discovery Channel Magazine. Many US-based publishers, including Cond? Nast and American Express Publishing, have launched Asian editions of their magazines in the past few months, trying to woo the growing affluent class in Asia.
Discovery Communications has more than 1.5 billion subscribers in 170 countries. Its TV and digital media networks include the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Discovery Science and Discovery HD.
The Reader’s Digest Association Inc. publishes 93 magazines, including 51 editions of flagship title Reader’s Digest. The company is located in Pleasantville, NY.
