Andre Yoskowitz
31 May 2013 23:05
CBS has announced its acquisition of TV Guide Digital, including the site TVGuide.com and TV Guide mobile.
The company had already owned 50 percent, and the rest was owned by movie studio Lionsgate. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
With the deal, the online/mobile versions will be separated from the TV Guide Network, the basic cable channel available in almost every American household despite its low ratings. Additionally, the weekly magazine will remain part of the TV Guide Network's assets, not the digital.
The digital guide will be integrated into the rest of CBS' properties, such as TV.com, GameSpot, Metracritic and even possibly Last.fm. TVGuide.com has 16.5 million monthly visitors. "It's a brand that has a nice-size audience, and a highly monetizable category that has a lot of relevance going forward," says CBS. "That's why it fits so well with our strategy."