News International Company Scoops Sky Mag Contract
The recently launched division of News International, News Magazines, has taken the contract for BSkyB’s Sky Magazine, taking it from John Brown.
The company will take over Sky Magazine next summer, with the news indicating the first customer magazine win for the division, which was created last year to take News International into the consumer magazine arena.
The division has so far launched the weekly Love It! and homes monthly Inside Out.
Sky Magazine was launched as a TV listings guide in 1994 and is the biggest circulation title in the UK because it goes out to Sky’s entire 8 million-strong subscriber base. John Brown has held the account since winning it from Redwood in 2002.
Sky called the pitch after deciding to launch additional customer magazines focused on its sport and movies offering. It October it appointed Haymarket Publishing to produce the sports title and Future to produce the movies title.
Sky today signalled it may launch another title, saying “further segmentation may be considered in the future”.
Camilla Rhodes, chief executive of News Magazines, said: “It is great to have won such a highly competitive and rigorous pitch. We relish the chance to create brilliant magazines that go beyond a contract solution and to reach in excess of 8 million homes each month is a truly fantastic opportunity.”
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