Meredith Corporation

Corporate brand

Former American media company whose magazine, digital-media, and local television businesses were reorganized or sold in 2021.

Last updated August 21, 2026

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Overview

Meredith Corporation was an American media company that combined consumer magazines, digital publishing, television broadcasting, and media production. Founded in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1902 by Edwin Thomas Meredith, the company began with Successful Farming, a publication aimed at agricultural readers. It later developed a substantial home-and-family publishing franchise, centered on Better Homes and Gardens, and expanded into television stations and digital properties. Better Homes and Gardens became Meredith's defining consumer brand. The company launched the magazine originally known as Fruit, Garden and Home in 1922 and renamed it Better Homes and Gardens in 1924. The title grew into a broader brand system spanning magazines, books, websites, food and home content, licensing, and television programming. The Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book, first published in 1930, became one of the company's best-known publishing products. Meredith became a public company in 1946. During the second half of the twentieth century it broadened its activities beyond magazines. Its initiatives included television production, national advertising representation, and ownership of local broadcast stations, many affiliated with CBS, Fox, or other major networks. The company also operated digital publishing properties, including Allrecipes.com and mywedding.com, and developed video and television production capabilities. During the 2010s Meredith pursued a strategy of building a large consumer-media portfolio. It acquired Allrecipes.com from the Reader's Digest Association in 2012, entered a long-term licensing arrangement involving Martha Stewart Living and Martha Stewart Weddings in 2014, and bought several health, fitness, and wedding-related properties. Its proposed combination with Media General in 2015 did not close after Nexstar successfully bid for Media General. Meredith subsequently acquired Time Inc. in January 2018, adding major brands such as People, Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, Health, Parents, Fortune, Money, Sports Illustrated, and Time to its portfolio. The Time Inc. acquisition substantially increased Meredith's scale but also produced a rapid portfolio review. Meredith sold or divested several acquired titles and assets, including Time, Fortune, Sports Illustrated, Money, Golf Magazine, Time Inc. UK, and its interest in Viant Technology. The company also reduced print activity for some brands and invested in digital publishing and video production. Its studio, initially called Time Inc. Productions, was renamed Four M Studios in 2018 and developed television, streaming, documentary, and branded-content projects based on Meredith and former Time Inc. properties. Meredith's final corporate reorganization separated its broadcasting and national-media activities. In 2021 Gray Television agreed to acquire Meredith's local television division for $2.7 billion in cash. The remaining magazine and other non-broadcast assets were acquired by IAC's Dotdash in a separate transaction also valued at $2.7 billion, creating Dotdash Meredith. Both transactions closed on December 1, 2021. As a result, Meredith Corporation ceased operating as an independent company, while many of its brands continued under new ownership. In 2022, several former Meredith magazine titles, including Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, EatingWell, Health, Parents, and People en Español, moved to digital-only publication.

History

Edwin Thomas Meredith established the company in 1902 after beginning publication of Successful Farming. The early business was rooted in agricultural information and service journalism, but Meredith gradually expanded toward the home and family audience. In 1922 it introduced Fruit, Garden and Home, which was renamed Better Homes and Gardens two years later. That title became the foundation of a long-running publishing franchise. Meredith added a cookbook under the Better Homes and Gardens name in 1930, helping extend the brand beyond periodical publishing into books and practical household content. The company became publicly traded in 1946. Over subsequent decades it built a portfolio of magazines and developed interests in television and entertainment production. Its broadcasting activities eventually included local stations serving markets across the United States, with many stations affiliated with major networks. Meredith also pursued national advertising representation and experimented with television specials and production businesses. From the 1990s through the 2000s, Meredith continued to combine publishing with broadcasting. Better Homes and Gardens content was adapted into television programming, including the lifestyle program Better, which aired from 2007 to 2015. The company also expanded its online presence as audiences moved toward web-based publishing, search-driven content, and digital advertising. The 2010s brought an aggressive portfolio-building phase. Meredith acquired Allrecipes.com in 2012 and mywedding.com in 2014, licensed Martha Stewart Living and Martha Stewart Weddings, and acquired Shape, Natural Health, and Fit Pregnancy from American Media in 2015. It also considered a major television consolidation through a proposed merger with Media General, but Nexstar's competing offer for Media General prevailed. Meredith then acquired Time Inc. in January 2018. The transaction brought a much larger collection of national brands, including People, Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, Health, Parents, Fortune, Money, Sports Illustrated, and Time. Meredith quickly concluded that some of these properties did not fit its preferred lifestyle focus. It reduced staffing, sold Time, Fortune, Sports Illustrated, Golf Magazine, Time Inc. UK, Money, and other assets, and folded or repositioned selected titles. The company also developed Four M Studios, an in-house production unit that produced documentaries, factual programming, streaming projects, and adaptations of magazine stories. Meredith's final phase involved dismantling the combined company. In May 2021 Gray Television agreed to buy the local television division. The broadcast assets were separated from the remaining magazine and digital businesses, and Gray completed its acquisition on December 1, 2021. IAC's Dotdash acquired the remaining national-media assets on the same day, forming Dotdash Meredith. Meredith Corporation therefore ceased to exist as an independent operating company, although its principal brands continued under successor businesses. The post-acquisition shift toward digital publishing was illustrated in 2022 when several former Meredith magazines ended print circulation.

2021
Broadcasting division sold to Gray Television
[2]Gray Television to acquire Meredith Corporationgray.tv
Gray Television acquired Meredith's local television assets.
2021
Dotdash Meredith formed
[3]Dotdash to acquire Meredithiac.com
IAC's Dotdash acquired Meredith's remaining magazine and non-broadcast assets.
2018
Time Inc. acquisition completed
[1]Meredith Corporationen.wikipedia.org
Meredith completed its purchase of Time Inc. and assumed control of its major magazine and digital brands.
2012
Allrecipes.com acquired
[1]Meredith Corporationen.wikipedia.org
Meredith bought the digital food community from the Reader's Digest Association.
1946
Meredith becomes a public company
[1]Meredith Corporationen.wikipedia.org
The company entered the public markets.
1930
Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book introduced
[1]Meredith Corporationen.wikipedia.org
The first edition extended Meredith's leading home brand into book publishing.
1924
Better Homes and Gardens name adopted
[1]Meredith Corporationen.wikipedia.org
Fruit, Garden and Home was renamed Better Homes and Gardens.
1922
Fruit, Garden and Home launched
[1]Meredith Corporationen.wikipedia.org
Meredith introduced a home, garden, and family publication that later became Better Homes and Gardens.
1902
Company founded
[1]Meredith Corporationen.wikipedia.org
Edwin Thomas Meredith began the business with Successful Farming magazine.

Products and positioning

A broad American consumer-media group focused especially on home, food, family, lifestyle, entertainment, and local television audiences.

Consumer magazine and lifestyle brand · 1922
Better Homes and Gardens
Meredith's signature home-and-family brand began as Fruit, Garden and Home in 1922 and adopted its better-known name in 1924. It covered home improvement, gardening, cooking, decorating, crafts, and family life. The brand expanded through cookbooks, websites, licensing, and television content and remained one of the company's principal consumer franchises.
Agricultural magazine and digital media · 1902
Successful Farming
Successful Farming was the publication with which Edwin Thomas Meredith started the company. It served agricultural readers with farming information and practical editorial content, and later supported related digital and online properties.
Digital food media
Allrecipes.com
Allrecipes.com is a large recipe and food-content website acquired by Meredith in 2012. Its community-oriented recipe database broadened Meredith's digital reach and complemented its existing food, home, and lifestyle publishing businesses.
Celebrity and entertainment magazine
People
People was one of the major national magazines added through the Time Inc. acquisition. It focused on celebrity news, popular culture, human-interest stories, and entertainment, and also supported television, video, and digital extensions.
Television and digital production · 2016
Four M Studios
Four M Studios was Meredith's in-house production operation. Originally created as Time Inc. Productions, it was renamed in 2018 and expanded to develop projects based on Meredith and former Time Inc. brands, including documentaries, factual series, streaming programs, and scripted or television adaptations.

Controversies

2020
Playboy sues Meredith and service companies over subscriber-data losses
Playboy sued Meredith, Pubworx Services and Specialists Marketing Services, alleging that subscriber information had been improperly disclosed and seeking indemnification for losses related to a separate subscriber privacy suit.
Source

2020Reveal
United States
Meredith announced Reveal, a quarterly magazine developed with Drew and Jonathan Scott of HGTV's Property Brothers, as a home and lifestyle extension.
Outcome. The first issue was planned for January 2020.
Source
2018Hungry Girl magazine
United States
Meredith extended the Hungry Girl digital food and lifestyle brand into a print magazine, broadening the brand's reach through the company's consumer-publishing infrastructure.
Outcome. The magazine launch was announced for January 2018.
Source
2007Better
United States
Meredith launched Better as a television extension of the Better Homes and Gardens franchise. The program combined lifestyle advice with cooking, health, beauty, fitness, fashion, celebrity interviews, and music performances, and was distributed through Meredith-owned stations and related local formats.
Outcome. The original program ran until 2015, while related local lifestyle formats continued on some Meredith stations.
Source

Brand decisions

2021
Separate and sell the broadcasting divisionM&A
Background
Meredith reorganized its broadcasting and national-media operations as part of a broader exit from independent ownership of the combined group.
Action taken
The local television business was separated and sold to Gray Television.
Aftermath
The transaction closed on December 1, 2021, and Gray became the owner of the former Meredith television stations.
Cash transaction value. $2.7 billion (Announced and completed in 2021)
Source
2021
Sell remaining national-media assets to DotdashM&A
Background
After separating the broadcast operation, Meredith agreed to transfer its magazines and other non-broadcast assets to IAC's Dotdash.
Action taken
Dotdash acquired the remaining assets and combined them with its digital publishing business as Dotdash Meredith.
Aftermath
The transaction closed on December 1, 2021, ending Meredith Corporation's independent corporate existence.
Transaction value. $2.7 billion (Announced and completed in 2021)
Source
2019
End Money print editionStrategy
Background
Meredith did not find a buyer for the Money print magazine and was shifting resources toward digital media.
Action taken
The company announced that print publication would end in July 2019 while the digital brand would continue.
Aftermath
Meredith later sold the Money brand and website to Ad Practitioners LLC.
Source
2018
Acquire Time Inc.M&A
Background
Meredith sought to increase its national consumer-media scale by acquiring Time Inc., whose portfolio included several high-profile magazine and digital brands.
Action taken
The acquisition was completed on January 31, 2018.
Aftermath
Meredith conducted a rapid portfolio review, reduced staffing, and sold or repositioned a number of acquired properties.
Transaction value. $2.8 billion (Announced in 2017; completed in 2018)
Source

Recent events

2022
Former Meredith magazines move to digital-only publication[1]Meredith Corporationen.wikipedia.org
Product generation
Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, EatingWell, Health, Parents, and People en Español were reported to be ending print circulation and continuing digitally.
2021
Gray Television agrees to acquire Meredith's television division[2]Gray Television to acquire Meredith Corporationgray.tv
M&A
Gray Television agreed to acquire Meredith's local broadcasting business for $2.7 billion in cash.
2021
Dotdash agrees to acquire Meredith's national media assets[3]Dotdash to acquire Meredithiac.com
M&A
IAC's Dotdash agreed to acquire Meredith's magazine and other non-broadcast assets, creating Dotdash Meredith.
2021
Meredith transactions close and Dotdash Meredith is formed[1]Meredith Corporationen.wikipedia.org
M&A
Regulatory approvals were received and the Gray and IAC transactions closed on December 1, ending Meredith's independent corporate operation.
2019
Meredith ends print publication of Money[1]Meredith Corporationen.wikipedia.org
Other
The company discontinued Money's print edition while continuing to invest in the brand's digital presence.
2019
Meredith sells Sports Illustrated brand[1]Meredith Corporationen.wikipedia.org
M&A
Meredith sold Sports Illustrated to Authentic Brands Group while retaining arrangements associated with publishing and operation of the title.
2019
Meredith sells Money brand and website[1]Meredith Corporationen.wikipedia.org
M&A
The Money brand and website were sold to Ad Practitioners LLC.
2018
Meredith completes acquisition of Time Inc.[1]Meredith Corporationen.wikipedia.org
M&A
Meredith completed its acquisition of Time Inc., substantially expanding its magazine, digital, and entertainment portfolio.
2018
Meredith announces post-Time Inc. restructuring and asset review[1]Meredith Corporationen.wikipedia.org
Leadership change
Shortly after closing the Time Inc. transaction, Meredith announced job reductions and reviewed the future of several acquired brands and businesses.
2018
Time sold to Marc and Lynne Benioff[1]Meredith Corporationen.wikipedia.org
M&A
Meredith sold the Time magazine brand to Marc Benioff and Lynne Benioff.

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