Disney, Wenner Media, Form New Company

Disney, Wenner Media, Form New Company
Disney to Own 50 Percent of US Weekly

The Walt Disney Company and Wenner Media have formed a new entertainment publishing company through which Disney has acquired a 50 percent interest in US Weekly, it was announced today by Michael D. Eisner, Disney's chairman and CEO, and Jann S. Wenner, chairman and owner of US Weekly.

Under the agreement, Disney and Wenner Media each owns a 50 percent interest in the new venture, named US Weekly LLC. It will remain in New York City and be managed by existing US Weekly executives.

"The value of a magazine like US Weekly is immense, and we believe this value will now be compounded as US is integrated with the wide-ranging media holdings of The Walt Disney Company," Eisner said. "Jann Wenner is a master publisher, who created Rolling Stone magazine as a voice for an entire generation. This new entertainment publishing company should benefit tremendously from the powerful combination of Jann's insights, the US Weekly brand and Disney's media assets."

Said Wenner, "We are thrilled to be forming this partnership with The Walt Disney Company. We look forward to working with Disney in maximizing their marketing expertise and unique ability to cross-promote through their businesses to help to make US Weekly the leading brand name in entertainment publications."

Eisner said US Weekly will have several tie-ins to ABC broadcast and online activities. Examples are:

• ABC Entertainment will develop and air an annual US Weekly-branded entertainment awards special capitalizing on the premier content of the magazine.
• "Good Morning America" will include an entertainment segment featuring an US Weekly correspondent.
• "The View" will feature US Weekly-branded entertainment segments.
• ABC-owned television stations will include in their news reports segments on entertainment presented by US Weekly. These US Weekly-branded reports also will be offered to ABC-affiliate television stations and aired through ABC's NewsOne Service.
• ABC Radio networks will offer daily US Weekly-branded entertainment features targeted to young adults, as well as "sneak previews" of the magazine before it is circulated.
• SoapNet will include US Weekly-branded interstitials on its program service featuring soap-related entertainment content.

In addition, the Walt Disney Internet Group is exploring ways to utilize content from US Weekly in its various entertainment Web sites.

Started as a bi-monthly publication in 1977, US Weekly was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986. After moving from a monthly to a weekly publication in March 2000, US Weekly has moved from 38th place to 15th place overall in annual newsstand sales and is currently ranked 7th among weekly publications in newsstand sales.

Wenner Media also owns Rolling Stone and Men's Journal, which are not involved in the new venture.

Disney has been active in publishing worldwide since 1930. In the United States, Disney publishes such family and general magazines as FamilyFun, Disney Magazine, Disney Adventures, Discover, talk and ESPN The Magazine. In addition, Disney publishes a variety of general and children's books under several Hyperion labels, including ESPN Books, Talk/Miramax Books, ABC Daytime Press and Hyperion East.

Disney Publishing is the world's largest producer of children's books and magazines, publishing more than 375 million copies annually.

-- Posted February 27, 2001

Source: Company press release