Hearst-Corporation
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Report: G4 to become the Esquire channel
Cable network G4 will be rebranded as the Esquire channel, acquiring the magazine's name and branding sometime in the early part of next year, The Hollywood Reporter, uhm, reports. The deal has been finalized between G4-owner NBCUniversal and Esquire-owner Hearst Corporation, according to The Hollywood Reporter's sources, and production of new content aimed at a "metrosexual" male audience is said to be underway.While the channel's new content will feature some gaming-oriented material, subjects such as fashion, cooking and travel will also be covered in an attempt to capture a more sophisticated male audience. As X-Play and Attack of the Show have already been cancelled, we doubt any of G4's late gaming content will be resurrected in the channel's new form. We are, however, looking forward to finding out how to recreate Nathan Drake's designer look for an off-the-rack price.
Hearst Corp. signs on to sell its magazines through iTunes, bringing more O to the iPad
Esquire, Popular Mechanics, and O are not just for your local bookstore's magazine rack any more -- assuming you still have a local bookstore and that it is still large enough to own a rack. Hearst Corporation, the force behind those printed 'zines, has become the first major publisher to terms with Apple, so those very publications will soon be on iTunes. Starting with their July editions you can subscribe for a seemingly quite reasonable $1.99 monthly, though the annual option of $19.99 seems like less of a bargain. (You can get a year of Popular Mechanics on pulp for $12.) This is just a small sampling from Heart's back catalog, but the company is promising more are coming soon, leaving us wondering just how we're supposed to fill out our Cosmo quizzes without a pen.
Report: IGN and UGO to merge, spin off from News Corp
News Corp's IGN and Hearst Corporation's UGO are merging, with an official announcement expected this week, reports AllThingsD's Peter Kafka. The alleged plan after that is to take the merged entity in the near future and create a standalone business that focuses on video games outside of News Corp -- the notion being that IGN, which is said will make $10 million in profit this year off $100 million in revenues, will do better outside of News Corp's influence. News Corp is also supposedly looking to take on investors for IGN before the split and may also be looking to acquire more properties before the spin-off occurs. Comscore data claims IGN has an audience of 19.7 million U.S. visitors, while UGO apparently has 13.1 million. If you want to put this into some grander context, this merger actually combines IGN, UGO, GameSpy, WhatTheyPlay.com and the remnants of the 2009 gutting of 1UP/EGM.
Hearst launching Skiff distribution system and Kindle competitor 'by publishers, for publishers,' thinks you'll want it too
Despite all the problems with the Kindle -- poor PDF support, low-contrast screen, Orwellian fears -- it makes for a mighty-fine reading experience for users. From a publisher's perspective it stinks, with Amazon reportedly sucking down 70% of a sale's proceeds. Hearst Corp. (owner of the Houston Chronicle, Oprah Magazine, and many others) wants to set things right. For two years the company has been developing a digital content publishing and distribution service called Skiff, and it's nearly ready for its christening. Publishers will be able to render and ship their content to a number of devices, including the iPhone, but Hearst is also working on its own Kindle competitor that will be the flagship of the Skiff system (we've created an artist's mock-up above). Skiff promises better graphics and better layouts of digital content, which is encouraging, but it'll also allow the easy injection of advertising into paid content -- something we're less happy to see making the transition over from print. As rumored many publishers are said to be signing on soon, with Sprint providing connectivity. That's great, but will you be coming aboard? Update: We have a few more details courtesy of the official press release, most interesting being news of a partnership with Marvell to develop a system on a chip for e-readers. Given that Spring Design's Alex and the Entourage Edge are both using Marvell chips, we wouldn't be surprised to find they've both been given a berth on this new venture. Also, Skiff is confirmed to be launching sometime in 2010.
