With its acquisition of Time Inc. earlier this year, Meredith Corp. is home to more iconic magazine titles than ever, from People to Better Homes & Gardens.
But as the president of Meredith National Media Group, Jon Werther, explains in the latest episode of the Variety podcast “Strictly Business,” he’s as focused on translating these publications to video and building out other revenue streams as he is continuing the core print product. “Video is a place we’d like to continue to scale, we have an incredible amount of engagement there,” he said.
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Werther is also focused on exploring opportunities in new distribution areas for content like Alexa “skills,” where Meredith brands are beginning to experiment.
“We’re very excited about it — we think it’s an emerging channel for us,” he said. “A significant percentage of search is carried out today through voice-enabled devices and continues to be done so that way.”
Werther also hinted it’s possible we haven’t seen the last acquisition from Meredith. “We expect consolidation will continue to occur and we like being in the position of a consolidator,” he remarked. “I would expect to continue to explore opportunities to add to our portfolio whether from brand, product or category perspective, or a new revenue stream perspective.”
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“Strictly Business” is Variety‘s weekly podcast featuring conversations with industry leaders about the business of entertainment. Listen to the podcast below for the full interview, or check out previous “Strictly Business” episodes featuring comedian/actor/producer Kevin Hart, ICM Partners agent Esther Newberg, and HBO chairman/CEO Richard Plepler. A new episode debuts each Tuesday and can be downloaded on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, and SoundCloud.
