Immediate Media Company Limited (with IMMEDIATE styled in all uppercase as its

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

) is a British multinational publishing house that produces a wide range of magazine titles, including ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

, BBC Top Gear, Good Food'' and many others. In H1 2018, the company's titles reported a combined ABC circulation of 1.59 million, including 1.1M active subscribers. In 2018 it reported selling 70+ million magazines. The publishing house is owned by

Hubert Burda Media Hubert Burda Media Holding is a German media group with headquarters in Offenburg. It originated as a small printing business, founded by Franz Burda Snr in Philippsburg, in 1903. In 1986, the corporate group was divided up between Franz Jnr, ...

, and is an agglomeration of Magicalia, Origin Publishing and BBC Magazines, publishing both media content and software platforms. Approximately 85% of its revenue is from content services, with the remainder from advertising. Immediate Media also owns Immediate Live, a business that launches nation-wide live events, including Good Food Shows, Knitting & Stitching Shows, Gardeners' World Live and others.

History

Immediate Media originated from the combined assets of several formerly independent publishing houses, including BBC Magazines, Magicalia,

Future plc Future plc is a British publishing company. It was started in 1985 by Chris Anderson (entrepreneur), Chris Anderson. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History 1985–2012 The company was ...

, Hitched and Jewellery Maker. In late 2011 the BBC's magazine-publishing business was sold to Exponent Private Equity, following clearance by the

Office of Fair Trading The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was a non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforced both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the United Kingdom's economi ...

. Exponent had previously acquired Magicalia Limited, a digital

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

and platform provider based in London. Magicalia was founded in 1999 by Adam Laird and Jeremy Tapp. Its inaugural website was bikemagic.com. In 2000, it began offering B2B publishing services, with clients such as ''

Runner's World ''Runner's World'' is a global magazine and website for runners of all abilities. It has additionally developed experiential formats, including a digital membership program, called Runner's World+. It is published by Hearst in Easton, Pennsylva ...

'' magazine. In 2011 Magicalia's assets were combined with those of Origin Publishing and BBC Magazines to form Immediate Media. Tom Bureau, then-CEO of Magicalia, became the Chief Executive of the new company. In May 2014 Immediate Media acquired Future plc's sport and craft titles. The sport portfolio included the websites Bikeradar.com and Cyclingnews.com and the magazines '' Cycling Plus'', '' Procycling and Mountain Biking UK.'' The craft titles included ''Love Patchwork'' and ''Quilting, Simply Knitting, and Mollie Makes''. In January 2015, Immediate Media acquired Hitched.co.uk, a UK wedding planning brand. In November 2015 Immediate Media acquired its first television property, Jewellery Maker, a TV and online commerce platform, from the Genuine Gemstone Company, adding to its Crafts and Arts portfolio. Jewellery Maker employed over 100 people at the time of its acquisition. It has since expanded into TV, video and

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) refers to commercial activities including the electronic buying or selling products and services which are conducted on online platforms or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile co ...

. Hubert Burda Media acquired Immediate Media in 2017, for £270 million (5-6 x

EBITDA A company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (commonly abbreviated EBITDA, pronounced ) is a measure of a company's profitability of the operating business only, thus before any effects of indebtedness, state-mandat ...

). In 2019, Immediate Media sold ''Procycling'' magazine and the Cyclingnews.com website back to Future plc.

Divisions

TV and Entertainment

'' is a British weekly television and radio programme

listings magazine A listings magazine is a magazine which is largely dedicated to information about the upcoming week's events such as broadcast programming, music, clubs, theatre and film information. The BBC's '' Radio Times'' was the world's first listings ...

, founded in 1923 by John Reith, the then general manager of the BBC. It was the world's first broadcast listings magazine. The title was published entirely in-house by BBC Magazines from 1937 until 2011, when the BBC Magazines division was sold to Immediate Media. Its peak weekly circulation was 8.8 million. In 2014 it accounted for 60% of Immediate Media's profit. It is the UK's biggest-selling magazine, with a weekly print ABC of 577,087, and the UK's biggest weekly subscription title, with 271,237 subscribers in 2018.

Sport

* 220 Triathlon * BikeRadar * Cycling Plus * Mountain Biking UK * Outdoors Magic

Homes and Gardening

Antiques Roadshow ''Antiques Roadshow'' is a British television programme broadcast by the BBC in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom (and occasionally in other countries) to appraise antiques brought in by local people ( ...

* BBC Gardeners' World * Gardens Illustrated * Homes & Antiques * The Recommended

Crafts

* Cardmaking & Papercraft * Cross Stitch Crazy * Cross Stitch Gold * Get into Craft * Jewellery Maker * Love Crochet * Love Knitting * Love Patchwork & Quilting * Mollie Makes * Papercraft Inspirations * Quick Cards Made Easy * Sewing Quarter * Simply Crochet * Simply Knitting * Simply Sewing * The Knitter * The World of Cross Stitching * The Yarn Loop * Today's Quilter * Ultimate Cross Stitch * We Love Craft

Motoring

* BBC Top Gear

Parents and children

Immediate Media says that it has the largest market share in the UK children's magazines sector, with a total ABC-audited circulation of 780,194. * Giggly.co.uk * Junior * Made For Mums

Weddings

* Hitched.co.uk * Perfect Wedding * You & Your Wedding

Specialist

* BBC Countryfile * BBC History * BBC Match of the Day *

BBC Music BBC Music is the arm of the BBC responsible for the music played across its services. The current director of music is Lorna Clarke. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio operational division; however, its remit also includes music used i ...

* BBC Science Focus * BBC Sky at Night Magazine * BBC Wildlife * Easy Cook * Good Food * Healthy Food Guide * History Extra * History Revealed * Homes and * Planet Traveller *

Olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

* Science and Nature * Top of the Pops

Youth and Children

* Andy's Amazing Adventures * Art-Draw and Create * Baby Shark * BBC CBeebies * BBC CBeebies ART * BBC CBeebies Special * BBC Match of the Day Magazine * BBC Match of the Day Specials * BBC Top of the Pops Magazine * Bluey * Disney's Animated Adventures * Disney's Comic * Disney's Explorer * Disney Girl * Disney Frozen * Disney Frozen Fun Time * Disney Stars * Disney Princess Create and Collect * Girl Talk * Hatchimals *

Lego Ninjago Lego ''Ninjago'' (stylized as ''LEGO NINJAGO''; , ) is a List of Lego themes, Lego theme that was created in 2011 and a flagship brand of The Lego Group. It is the first theme to be based on ninjas since the discontinuation of the Lego Ninja th ...

* Lego Disney Princesses * Lego Superhero Legends * Lego Star Wars * Lego Specials * Lego Giant Series * Lego City * MEGA! * PJ Masks * Pokémon * Ultimate Series

Platforms and other revenue

Some Immediate Media brands serve as e-commerce marketplaces. These include the wedding site hitched.co.uk and the TV shopping arm of Jewellery Maker. In July 2022, Immediate Media launched The Recommended, an internet shopping guide devoted to e-commerce recommendations and buyers' guides. Immediate Media also organises live events such as the Radio Times Festival. Immediate Media sells market research services based around its consumer panel, which the company says has 14,000 respondents. The firm also provides data analytics, loyalty publishing and IP licensing.

References

External links

Immediate Media Company

Immediate brings growth back to UK magazines
– 2018 article in ''Flashes and Flames'' {{Authority control 2011 establishments in England BBC publications British companies established in 2011 Mass media in London Publishing companies based in London Publishing companies established in 2011 British subsidiaries of foreign companies