New Guide For TV Guide, Haeffner Named Publisher

  • by January 6, 2006
TV Guide, struggling to establish a new identity in the face of daunting new challenges from a weak advertising market and Internet media outlets, named a new publisher late Thursday.

The magazine, published by Gemstar-TV Guide International, named Peter Haeffner publisher--replacing Scott Crystal, who was promoted to president of the TV Guide Publishing Group in October 2005.

In his new role, Haeffner will oversee all advertising sales and marketing for TV Guide--which re-launched on October 17th as a redesigned, full-size, full-color publication with an assortment of feature stories replacing the traditional program listings that were once the publication's bread and butter.

However, changing viewing habits--coupled with the proliferation of cable networks with different channels and programs nationwide, as well as the growing availability of regionally specific online listing services--rendered TV Guide's printed listings virtually obsolete.

Haeffner previously served as eastern sales director for the magazine. Most recently, he worked as advertising director for Meredith Corporation's Better Homes and Gardens.

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TV Guide is struggling with the transition from being primarily a listings service to a full-service, feature-oriented magazine. From January through November 2005, ad pages in the magazine dropped 32.5 percent, from 2115 to 1428--compared to the same period the previous year, according to the Publishers Information Bureau.

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