Macrovision — the company that sold TV Guide magazine to OpenGate Capital for $1 back in October — has sold off the rest of its TV Guide holdings.
But NOT to OpenGate. For $255 million, a different private equity group, Allen Shapiro and One Equity Partners, is gaining control of the TV Guide Network, which includes TVGuide.com.
Meanwhile, TV Guide the magazine apparently plans to build its own Web site with a different name than that of the Web site that shares the name of the actual publication. Because that will never confuse consumers. What else can they do, though? A magazine in today’s environment demands a Web counterpart, but $255 million is a little steep, compared to the $1 price tag of their last investment.
I’m interested to see what both sets of investors do with this venerable brand. TV Guide may have hit some rough spots, but it’s been around a while and still has a fairly impressive circulation. I really hope they figure out a way to make it work for the print. As for the separate Web site? Well, I don’t think the world really needs another site of TV gossip and listings, but I am willing to be pleasantly surprised by what they come up with.
