• Mediaweek, Wednesday, October 28, 2009 10:19 PM

TV Guide is introducing a special-interest publication devoted to the cartoon character SpongeBob today (Oct. 29), the first of at least six single-topic special interest pubs planned for the year ahead.

The 96-page "Ultimate Guide to SpongeBob SquarePants," marks the 10th anniversary of the Nickelodeon show and has a planned distribution of 600,000. Features include four different covers, free video downloads on iTunes and a sneak peek of a new episode airing Nov. 7.

TV Guide is working on co-sponsorships for upcoming SIPs, but the SpongeBob issue is ad-free, with a $6.99 cover price, compared to $3.99 for the regular issue. It follows a special issue devoted to "Law & Order" that came out earlier this year. Such special publications are popular with publishers these days because they usually command a high newsstand price and aren't dependent on scarce advertising.

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