TV Guide Sold Again

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Macrovision, which acquired Gemstar-TV Guide earlier this year primarily for its interactive program guide technology, has sold the iconic TV Guide print magazine to a Beverly Hills investment firm.

Terms of the deal announced late Monday with OpenGate Capital were not disclosed.

The weekly magazine has tried reinvent itself with a focus on celebrities as it faced increasing competition from digital sources; ad pages were down 1.4 percent in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year, However, estimated ad revenue was up 9 percent to $103 million, according to the Publishers Information Bureau.

“Macrovision is focused on providing technology solutions and TV Guide Magazine was identified as a business not aligned with that core corporate strategy,” said the Santa Clara-based digital software solutions firm in a statement.

Macrovision spent $2.8 billion in cash and stock to buy Gemstar in April. It plans to continue operating the online TV Guide Web site for now.

The deal is expected to close Dec. 1. OpenGate’s investments primarily have been in the information technology arena prior to the TV Guide acquisition.

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