TI Media (formerly International Publishing Company, IPC Magazines Ltd, IPC Media and Time Inc. UK) was a consumer

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

and digital publisher in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, with a portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year. Most of its titles now belong to

Future plc Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span magazines, newsletters, websites, and events in fields such as video games, technology, films, music, photogr ...

History

Origins

The British magazine publishing industry in the mid-1950s was dominated by a handful of companies, principally the

Associated Newspapers DMG Media (stylised in lowercase) is an intermediate holding company for Associated Newspapers, Northcliffe Media, Harmsworth Printing, Harmsworth Media and other subsidiaries of Daily Mail and General Trust. It is based at Northcliffe House in ...

(founded by Lord Harmsworth in 1890), Odhams Press Ltd,

Newnes Newnes (), an abandoned oil shale mining site of the Wolgan Valley, is located in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia. The site that was operational in the early 20th century is now partly surrounded by Wollemi Nationa ...

Pearson Pearson may refer to: Organizations Education *Lester B. Pearson College, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada *Pearson College (UK), London, owned by Pearson PLC *Lester B. Pearson High School (disambiguation) Companies *Pearson PLC, a UK-based int ...

, and the

Hulton Press Sir Edward George Warris Hulton (29 November 1906 – 8 October 1988) was a British magazine publisher and writer. Early life Hulton was born to Sir Edward Hulton, 1st Baronet, a newspaper publisher and racehorse owner originally from Mancheste ...

, which fought each other for market share in a highly competitive marketplace.

Fleetway

In 1958

Cecil Harmsworth King Cecil Harmsworth King (20 February 1901 – 17 April 1987) was Chairman of Daily Mirror Newspapers, Sunday Pictorial Newspapers and the International Publishing Corporation (1963–1968), and a director at the Bank of England (1965–1968). Bio ...

, chairman of the newspaper group, The Daily Mirror Newspapers Limited which included the ''

Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...

'' and the '' Sunday Pictorial'' (now the ''

Sunday Mirror The ''Sunday Mirror'' is the Sunday sister paper of the ''Daily Mirror''. It began life in 1915 as the ''Sunday Pictorial'' and was renamed the ''Sunday Mirror'' in 1963. In 2016 it had an average weekly circulation of 620,861, dropping marke ...

''), together with provincial chain West of England Newspapers, made an offer for

Amalgamated Press The Amalgamated Press (AP) was a British newspaper and magazine publishing company founded by journalist and entrepreneur Alfred Harmsworth (1865–1922) in 1901, gathering his many publishing ventures together under one banner. At one point the ...

. The offer was accepted, and in January 1959 he was appointed its chairman. Within a few months he changed its name to Fleetway Publications, Ltd. after the name of its headquarters, Fleetway House in London's Farringdon Street. Shortly thereafter,

Odhams Press Odhams Press was a British publishing company, operating from 1920 to 1968. Originally a magazine publisher, Odhams later expanded into book publishing and then children's comics. The company was acquired by Fleetway Publications in 1961 and th ...

absorbed both George Newnes and the Hulton Press. King saw an opportunity in this to rationalise the overcrowded women's magazine market, in which Fleetway and Newnes were the major competitors, and made a bid for Odhams on behalf of Fleetway that was too attractive to ignore. Fleetway took over Odhams in the month of March 1961.

International Publishing Company

In consequence, King controlled publishing interests which included two national daily and two national Sunday newspapers (the newspaper interests being informally tagged The Mirror Group), along with almost one hundred consumer magazines, more than two hundred trade and technical periodicals, and interests in book publishing. This included the combined business interests of Fleetway, Odhams, and Newnes. All of the companies involved had been acquired without any significant change in management, save for the appointment of Mirror Group directors as chairmen. In 1963 all the companies were combined by the creation of a parent (or "holding") company called the International Publishing Company (known informally as IPC). All of the existing companies would continue to exist, but as IPC subsidiaries.Birch, Paul
"Speaking Frankly,"
''Birmingham Mail'' (14 December 2008). IPC then set up a management development department in 1965, to rationalise its holdings, so that its various subsidiaries would no longer be in competition with each other for the same markets. This led to a reorganisation of the Group, in 1968, into six divisions: * IPC Newspapers – including ''

The People The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881. At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ' ...

'' and '' The Sun'' (soon sold), as well as the ''Daily Mirror'' and ''Sunday Pictorial'' * IPC Magazines – consumer magazines and comics * IPC Trade and Technical – specialist magazines (later known as IPC Business Press Ltd.) * IPC Books – all book publishing (headed by

Paul Hamlyn Paul Hamlyn, Baron Hamlyn, (12 February 1926 – 31 August 2001) was a German-born British publisher and philanthropist, who established the Paul Hamlyn Foundation in 1987. Early life He was born Paul Bertrand Wolfgang Hamburger in Berlin, Ger ...

, whose own company had been acquired by IPC). * IPC Printing – all non-newspaper printing operations (headed by Arnold Quick, whose own company had also been acquired by IPC). * IPC New Products – launching pad for products that used new technology (headed by Alistair McIntosh). All the divisions were headed by chairmen who originated in Mirror Group, except for Hamlyn, Quick and McIntosh.

IPC Magazines

The turmoil at IPC in 1969 led to major consolidations in the joint comics publishing divisions, IPC Magazines Ltd., which was under the responsibility of

Jack Legrand Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

, formerly the Managing Editor of Fleetway's juvenile publications. Odhams'

Power Comics Power Comics was an imprint (trade name), imprint of the British comics publisher Odhams Press (itself a division of IPC Magazines) that was particularly notable for its use of material reprinted from American Marvel Comics. Appearing chiefly du ...

line of titles were canceled, as was

's long-running adventure comic ''

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

'' (merging with Fleetway's ''

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

'' from 2 May 1969). The humour comic ''Giggle'', aimed at the slightly younger market dominated by Fleetway's '' Buster'', was also dropped, being merged into ''Buster'' in the spring of 1969. ''Buster'', like Odhams' '' Smash!'', also now became a publication of IPC Magazines Ltd. (IPC Magazines also took over another UK publisher,

City Magazines City Magazines was a British publisher of weekly comics and men's magazines that operated from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. The company's most notable publications were comics magazines based on licensed television properties, including ''TV Ce ...

, around this time.)

Reed International takeover

In May 1968, a boardroom coup had replaced Cecil King with his deputy chairman,

Hugh Cudlipp Hubert Kinsman Cudlipp, Baron Cudlipp, OBE (28 August 1913 – 17 May 1998), was a Welsh journalist and newspaper editor noted for his work on the ''Daily Mirror'' in the 1950s and 1960s. He served as chairman of the Mirror Group group o ...

, a former newspaper editor. Cudlipp had no interest in management, and was uneasy both with his new role and with IPC's diversification into computerised publication and other new technology. In 1969, Cudlipp proposed to former Mirror Group director

Don Ryder Sydney Thomas Franklin Ryder, Baron Ryder of Eaton Hastings (16 September 1916 – 12 May 2003), known as Don Ryder, was a businessman and Labour peer. The one-time Chair of the National Enterprise Board, he was involved in the creation of the ...

— who was then chairman of the Reed Group, in which IPC had a 30% shareholding — to mount a

reverse takeover A reverse takeover (RTO), reverse merger, or reverse IPO is the acquisition of a public company by a private company so that the private company can bypass the lengthy and complex process of going public. Sometimes, conversely, the public compan ...

of IPC by Reed. IPC-Mirror Group was thus itself taken over in 1970, by the paper-making company Albert E Reed, which then renamed itself

Reed International RELX plc (pronounced "Rel-ex") is a British multinational information and analytics company headquartered in London, England. Its businesses provide scientific, technical and medical information and analytics; legal information and analytics; ...

. In 1974, part of the publishing interests of Reed International were separated into ''IPC Magazines Ltd'' (comprising the magazine and comics holdings) and Mirror Group Newspapers (comprising the newspaper holdings). The latter was sold to Pergamon Holdings Ltd, a private company owned by

Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, member of parliament (MP), suspected spy, and fraudster. Early in his life, Maxwell escaped from N ...

, in 1984. In 1988, IPC acquired ''

Family Circle ''Family Circle'' was an American magazine that covered such topics as homemaking, recipes, and health. It was published from 1932 until the end of 2019. Originally distributed at supermarkets, it was one of the " Seven Sisters," a group of se ...

'' from the

International Thomson Organization International Thomson Organization (ITO) was a holding company for interests in publishing, travel, and natural resources, that existed from 1978 to 1989. It was formed as a reorganisation of the Thomson Organization, which had been founded by Roy ...

. In 1989, IPC acquired ''

TVTimes ''TV Times'' is a British television listings magazine published by Future plc. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by IPC Media in 1989, which ...

''. In the early 1990s IPC launched '' Loaded'', which began a wave of " lad's mags". In 1992, following a merger with Dutch science publisher Elsevier NV, Reed International underwent a further name change, becoming Reed Elsevier (now

RELX Group RELX plc (pronounced "Rel-ex") is a British multinational information and analytics company headquartered in London, England. Its businesses provide scientific, technical and medical information and analytics; legal information and analytics; ...

Sale of Fleetway

In 1987, part of the

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

holdings of IPC Magazines Ltd (comprising those comics and characters created after 1 January 1970, plus 26 specified characters from '' Buster'', which was then still being published) were placed in a separate company,

Fleetway Publications Fleetway Publications was a magazine publishing company based in London. It was founded in 1959 when the Mirror Group acquired the Amalgamated Press, then based at Fleetway House, Farringdon Street, London. It was one of the companies that merg ...

, which was sold to Pergamon Holdings. In 1991,

Egmont UK Egmont may refer to: * Egmont Group, a media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark * Egmond family (often spelled "Egmont"), an influential Dutch family, lords of the town of Egmond ** Lamoral, Count of Egmont (1522–1568), the bes ...

purchased Fleetway from Pergamon, merging it with their own comics publishing operation, London Editions, to form Fleetway Editions. The latter was absorbed into the main Egmont brand by 2000, having sold off the continuing titles (such as '' 2000 AD''), and continued with only reprint and licensed titles (e.g. ''

Sonic The Comic ''Sonic the Comic'' was a British children's comic published by Fleetway Editions between 1993 and 2002. It was the UK's Sega comic, featuring stories about its mascot Sonic the Hedgehog and related characters, as well as comic strips based ...

''). IPC had retained the other comics characters and titles, i.e. those created before 1970 (except the 26 characters from ''Buster''), including

Sexton Blake Sexton Blake is a fictional character, a detective who has been featured in many British comic strips, novels and dramatic productions since 1893. Sexton Blake adventures were featured in a wide variety of British and international publications ...

, The Steel Claw, and

Battler Britton Battler Britton is a British comics character created by Mike Butterworth and Geoff Campion.McNeil, Jamie"Battler Britton" ''The Slings & Arrows Graphic Novel Guide''. Retrieved April 7, 2021. He first appeared in Amalgamated Press' ''Sun'' in 195 ...

. One character,

Dan Dare Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories. Dare appeared in the ''Eagle'' comic story ''Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future'' from 1950 to 1967 (and subsequently in repri ...

, was sold separately and is currently owned by the Dan Dare Corporation. In 2016 and 2018, Egmont sold its remaining library of IPC/Fleetway to

Rebellion Developments Rebellion Developments Limited is a British video game developer based in Oxford, England. Founded by Jason and Chris Kingsley in December 1992, the company is best known for its ''Sniper Elite'' series and multiple games in the ''Alien vs. Pre ...

, who had previously acquired ''2000 AD'' in 2000.

Time Inc. takeover

In 1998, IPC Magazines Ltd was subject to a

management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena of 1 ...

financed by

Cinven Cinven is a global private equity firm founded in 1977, with offices in nine international locations in Guernsey, London, New York, Paris, Frankfurt, Milan, Luxembourg, Madrid, and Hong Kong that acquires Europe and United States based corporat ...

, a

venture capital Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...

group, and the company was renamed IPC Media. Cinven then sold the company to

Time Inc. Time Inc. was an American worldwide mass media corporation founded on November 28, 1922, by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden and based in New York City. It owned and published over 100 magazine brands, including its namesake ''Time'', ''Sports Illu ...

, then the magazine publishing subsidiary of

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

, in 2001. In January 2009, Evelyn Webster became the company's chief executive, replacing Sylvia Auton who had run it since 2001 IPC Media formally became Time Inc. UK in September 2014, creating a single Time Inc. brand in both the US and UK. In April 2012, IPC Media won an award for Best Production Team of the Year at the

Professional Publishers Association The Professional Publishers Association (PPA), formerly known as the Periodical Publishers Association until 2011, is the main publishing industry body which promotes companies involved in the production of media, supporting the creative economy at ...

Production and Environment Awards 2012.

2018 sale to Epiris

On 26 February 2018,

Meredith Corporation Meredith Corporation was an American media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, that owned magazines, television stations, websites, and radio stations. Its publications had a readership of more than 120 million and paid circulation of more ...

, who had completed its purchase of Time Inc. almost a month earlier, announced it was selling Time Inc. UK to a fund associated with British private equity firm Epiris. The transaction closed on 19 March of that year. In June 2018, the company was renamed TI Media. In September 2018, TI Media sold its library of pre-1970 IPC Comics titles to Rebellion Developments. In 2019, TI Media sold its music magazines to BandLab Technologies.

2020 acquisition by Future

TI Media was acquired by

on 21 April 2020 following shareholder and Competition and Markets Authority approval. Future subsequently divested ''

Amateur Photographer ''Amateur Photographer'' is a British photography magazine, published weekly by Kelsey Media. The magazine provides articles on equipment reviews, photographic technique, and profiles of professional photographers. About the magazine ''Ama ...

'',

Trusted Reviews ''Trusted Reviews'' is a web publication focused on technology, published in London, UK by Incisive Media. History Trusted Reviews was founded in 2003 by Hugh Chappell and Riyad Emeran as a response to the decline in sales of computer review ...

, and '' World Soccer'' and absorbed the rest of TI Media into Future Publishing.

Publishing divisions

TI Media divisions up until Future plc acquisition including: * '' 25 Beautiful Homes'' * '' Amateur Gardening'' * '' Angler's Mail'' * ''

Chat Chat or chats may refer to: Communication * Conversation, particularly casual * Online chat, text message communication over the Internet in real-time * Synchronous conferencing, a formal term for online chat * SMS chat, a form of text messagin ...

'' * '' Country Homes & Interiors'' * '' Country Life'' * ''

Cycling Weekly ''Cycling Weekly'' is a British cycling magazine. It is published by Future and is devoted to the sport and pastime of cycling. It used to be affectionately referred to by British club cyclists as "The Comic".

'' * ''

Decanter A decanter is a vessel that is used to hold the decantation of a liquid (such as wine) which may contain sediment. Decanters, which have a varied shape and design, have been traditionally made from glass or crystal. Their volume is usually equ ...

'' * '' The Field'' * ''

Golf Monthly ''Golf Monthly'' is a monthly golfing magazine published by Future plc and based in Paddington in London. It publishes 13 issues a year and has a popular websitgolfmonthly.com The magazine's editor is Michael Harris. It is known for being the world ...

'' * '' Goodtoknow'' * ''

Homes & Gardens ''Homes & Gardens'' is a British monthly interior design and garden design magazine published by Future plc Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that spa ...

'' * ''

Horse & Hound ''Horse & Hound'' is the oldest equestrian weekly magazine of the United Kingdom. Its first edition was published in 1884. The magazine contains horse industry news, reports from equestrian events, veterinary advice about caring for horses, and h ...

'' * ''

Ideal Home ''Ideal Home'' is a British home decorating magazine, published monthly (11 times a year) by Future plc Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span m ...

'' * ''

Livingetc Livingetc is a magazine focusing on modern interior design published by Future plc. History The magazine began publication in 1998 in London, England and specialises in minimalist interiors. Current Livingetc is a British modern homes mag ...

'' * '' Marie Claire U'' * ''

Motor Boat & Yachting ''Motor Boat & Yachting'' magazine is a monthly magazine about motorboats and yachting published by Time Inc. UK. The editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has ...

'' * ''

Mountain Bike Rider ''Mountain Bike Rider'' (''MBR'') is a magazine about mountain bike riding published 13 times a year by IPC Media. It is edited by Simon Collis. Early history The first edition of ''Mountain Bike Rider'' was issued 14 March 1997. Reference ...

(MBR)'' * '' Pick Me Up'' * ''

Practical Boat Owner ''Practical Boat Owner'' is a British magazine about boats. It is published by Future plc Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span magazines, ne ...

'' * ''

Rugby World ''Rugby World'' is a monthly rugby union magazine running since October 1960. It is published monthly by Future plc and edited by Owain Jones who took over from long-standing editor Paul Morgan in January 2012. Paul Morgan was long considered a ...

'' * ''

Shooting Gazette ''Shooting Gazette'' is a monthly field sports magazine published by Future plc. ''Shooting Gazette'' covers all aspects of driven shooting, both in the UK and abroad. It includes advice on gamekeeping, regular interviews with leading figures ...

'' * ''

Shooting Times ''Shooting Times and Country Magazine'', more commonly known as the ''Shooting Times'', is a British shooting, fieldsports, and conservation magazine, published by Future plc. The magazine also features articles on fishing, deer stalking, gamekeep ...

'' * '' ShootingUK'' * ''

Sporting Gun ''Sporting Gun'' is a leading monthly sporting publication covering game and clay shooting. It is published by Future plc Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 br ...

'' * ''

Style at Home ''Style at Home'' is a monthly Canadian home decor and lifestyle magazine, which publishes articles about interior design, home decorating projects, outdoor living and entertaining. History and profile ''Style at Home'' was established in 1997 ...

'' * ''

TV & Satellite Week ''TV & Satellite Week'' is a television listings magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing. Its focus is on quality dramas, comedy and documentaries, films and sport. ''TV & Satellite Week'' belongs to Future Publishing's ...

'' * ''

Wallpaper Wallpaper is a material used in interior decoration to decorate the interior walls of domestic and public buildings. It is usually sold in rolls and is applied onto a wall using wallpaper paste. Wallpapers can come plain as "lining paper" (so t ...

'' * ''

What's on TV ''What's on TV'' is a weekly television listings magazine published by Future PLC. Overview ''What's on TV'' is a weekly UK television magazine. It publishes features, TV listings, news and gossip from soap operas, as well as puzzles and compe ...

'' * ''

Woman A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

'' * ''

Woman & Home ''Woman & Home'' is a monthly lifestyle magazine published by Future PLC. The London-based women's lifestyle brand produces fashion and beauty features for real women in their 40s and upwards, along with inspirational articles on the home and gar ...

'' * ''

Woman's Own ''Woman's Own'' is a British lifestyle magazine aimed at women. Publication ''Woman's Own'' was first published in 1932 by Newnes. In its early years it placed women's rights and social problems firmly in the foreground. Its first "agony aunt" was ...

'' * '' Woman's Weekly'' * ''

Yachting Monthly ''Yachting Monthly'' is a monthly magazine about yachting published by Future PLC. It is edited by Theo Stocker. History and profile At its launch in 1906, from the offices of The Field, ''The Manchester Guardian'' reviewed the first issue descr ...

'' * ''

Yachting World ''Yachting World'' is a monthly English language magazine published since 1894. Owned by Future plc, it features articles on sailing and yachting Yachting is the use of recreational boats and ships called ''yachts'' for racing or cruising. Ya ...

'' * YBW.com

References

External links

* {{TI Media Fleetway and IPC Comics Magazine publishing companies of the United Kingdom Comic book publishing companies of the United Kingdom 1963 establishments in England 2020 disestablishments in England British companies established in 1963 British companies disestablished in 2020 Publishing companies established in 1963 Publishing companies disestablished in 2020 Publishing companies based in London Former Time Warner subsidiaries 1998 mergers and acquisitions 2001 mergers and acquisitions 2018 mergers and acquisitions 2020 mergers and acquisitions

History

Origins

Fleetway

International Publishing Company

IPC Magazines

Reed International takeover

Sale of Fleetway

Time Inc. takeover

2018 sale to Epiris

2020 acquisition by Future

Publishing divisions

See also

References

Further reading

External links