Time Magazine 2012 Annual Report Download - page 27

DC Comics properties for online, mobile and traditional videogames on various platforms to third parties, and
WBIE publishes and distributes videogame titles owned by third parties.
Warner Bros. Consumer Products Inc. licenses rights to manufacturers, publishers, retailers, theme park
operators and other licensees both domestically and internationally to the names, likenesses, images, logos and
other representations of characters and copyrighted material from the motion pictures and television series
produced or distributed by Warner Bros., including Harry Potter, the superhero characters of DC Comics,
Hanna-Barbera characters and Looney Tunes. Also included are classic films such as The Wizard of Oz and Gone
with the Wind.
DC Entertainment is responsible for bringing the stories and characters from the DC Comics, Vertigo and
MAD Magazine publishing portfolios into other Warner Bros. content and distribution businesses, including
feature films, television programming, videogames, direct-to-consumer platforms and consumer products. The
DC Comics imprint, home to such iconic characters as Batman,Superman,Wonder Woman and Green Lantern,
has launched digital versions of its top comic book and graphic novel titles, making them available for download
on digital platforms. DC Entertainment’s Vertigo imprint publishes comic books and graphic novels and is home
to titles such as Sandman,Fables,100 Bullets and American Vampire. MAD Magazine publishes bi-monthly
issues of the magazine, as well as special-edition books and magazines. In 2012, DC Entertainment published on
average more than 100 printed comic books, graphic novels and specialty books a month and nearly 350 digital
comic books and graphic novels per month.
Publishing
The Company’s publishing business is conducted primarily by Time Inc., the largest magazine publisher in
the U.S. based on advertising revenues, as measured by Publishers Information Bureau (“PIB”). Time Inc. also
operates a number of websites, as well as book publishing and marketing businesses.
In March 2013, the Company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized management to proceed
with plans for the complete legal and structural separation of Time Inc. from the Company. The transaction is
currently expected to be effected as a spin-off of Time Inc., pursuant to which Time Inc. would become an
independent, publicly traded company. The Company expects to complete the transaction by the end of 2013.
As of December 31, 2012, Time Inc. published 21 magazines in print in the U.S. and over 70 magazines
outside the U.S., primarily through IPC Media (“IPC”) in the U.K. and Grupo Expansión (“GEX”) in Mexico. In
addition, as of December 31, 2012, Time Inc. operated over 45 websites that collectively had average monthly
unique visitors of over 49 million in the U.S., the U.K., Mexico and other countries during the fourth quarter of
2012.
Time Inc. also publishes all of its U.S. magazines on multiple digital devices and platforms. Time Inc. offers
an “All Access” model for its U.S. magazines that provides a print subscription plus cross-platform digital access
to subscribers for no additional fee. On certain digital devices and platforms in the U.S. and in select
international regions, Time Inc. offers digital-only monthly, semi-annual or annual subscriptions as well as
single-copy issues to each of its magazines. Time Inc. also continues to extend its brands by developing and
launching free and paid apps that are available for download across various digital devices and platforms,
including SI Swimsuit Scanner, EW’s Must List, SI March Madness Viewer, Real Simple: No Time to Cook,
MyRecipes: Daily Indulgence and People CelebWatch, and mobile versions of CNNMoney.com,SI.com and
Time.com.
In 2009, Time Inc., together with four other leading publishers, formed an independent venture called Next
Issue Media that developed a digital storefront and related technology to allow consumers to enjoy media content
on portable digital devices. Time Inc. makes available single-copy issues and digital subscriptions of Time Inc.’s
U.S. magazines for sale and download on certain digital devices through Next Issue Media’s digital storefront. In
addition, for no additional fee, print subscribers of Time Inc.’s U.S. magazines are able to access through Next
Issue Media the tablet edition of the print magazine to which they subscribe.
Time Inc.’s U.S. magazines and companion websites are organized into three business units: (1) Style and
Entertainment, (2) Lifestyle and (3) News and Sports. The Style and Entertainment business unit includes
(i) People, a weekly magazine that reports on celebrities and other newsworthy individuals, People StyleWatch,a
monthly fashion magazine aimed at U.S. style-conscious younger readers, People en Español, a monthly
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