The merger of TV Guide with the Prevue listing channel announced June 11 should only increase the universe of one of the largest mailing lists on the market. Anthea Disney, chairman and CEO of News America Publishing, New York, which will merge the largest-circulation magazine in the United States with Tele-Communications Inc.'s Prevue, Englewood, CO, for $2 billion in cash and stock, said she expected circulation of TV Guide to grow dramatically from its current 13 million subscribers. The deal also involves the TV Guide Entertainment Web site and cable guide publisher TVSM. The news bodes well for Novus Marketing, Tarrytown, NY, which manages TV Guide's mailing list of more than 9.6 million active subscribers and 652,116 monthly hotlines. “TV Guide is already a superstore for the list industry,” said Monica Smith, vice president of list management. “Anything else you add will only make it that much more powerful.”
