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Media
Billboard sold
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 11 December 2009
American music industry trade mag Billboard is one seven titles that have been snapped up by a new media company called E5 Global Media, who are backed by some of those shady private equity types. Also part of the deal between E5 and US business publisher Nielson are The Hollywood Reporter, Back Stage, Film Journal International, Adweek, Mediaweek and Brandweek. E5 will also get The Clio Awards and the Film Expo conference business.
This is the previously reported deal that initially involved Lachlan ‘son of Rupert’ Murdoch, though he dropped out of the consortium setting up E5 at the last minute, so will not be part of the new company. E5 will be headed up by New York media man Jimmy Finkelstein who said yesterday: “We decided this was a great time to buy media assets. We’re going to create great businesses in print, online, on mobile, [and] in events, and we think it’s the right time to do it”.
Not everyone is as optimistic of E5’s chances of turning round the fortunes of the entertainment titles it’s acquired, all of which have been struggling of late. However, it’s expected the new owners will try to expand the pay-to-use components of each titles’ online operations, which is the fashion among media owners just now, and which might work better in business media than with consumer titles. Time will tell, I guess.
In related news, Nielsen announced yesterday it would close Editor & Publisher, the trade magazine for the US newspaper industry, which presumably E5 weren’t interested in buying.
