Promoting Content Across Platforms, HGTV Launches Magazine

In a surprising media shift, HGTV Magazine hit the newsstands yesterday. The brand new publication is a joint effort of Hearst Corp. and Scripps Network Interactive Inc.,  which owns several cable channels, including HGTV and the Food Network.

Like the HGTV channel, the magazine focuses on home and lifestyle, with articles on everything from home decorating to grill maintenance, according to the Wall Street Journal.

While a first for HGTV, Hearst and Scripps have done it before with Food Network Magazine. Despite the decline of the publishing industry overall, Food Network Magazine’s ad pages went up 11.5% last year while rivals Cooking Light, Every Day with Rachael Ray, and Everyday Food saw double-digit declines, according to the PIB, an organization that monitors ad revenues and pages in consumer magazines.

“It’s the 21st-century model,” said Michael Clinton, marketing president and publishing director of Hearst Magazines. “You get the benefit of the website user, the viewers, and the promotion on the network.”

The Drum describes HGTV magazine having “the secret sauce,” including a huge promotional boost with a documentary and support from the website and social platforms. In a nutshell, content was used to promote content.