{{short description|American magazine publishing company}} {{Copy edit|date=October 2025}} {{Distinguish|text=Time (magazine) or Time Life, both former possessions of Time Inc}} {{for|the Doctor Who serial|The Ultimate Foe}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2016}} {{Infobox company | name = Time Inc. | logo = Time Inc. logo.svg | logo_caption = Final logo by Siegel+Gale used from 1986 to 2018. | image = Time-Life Building2.jpg | image_caption = The former Time & Life Building (now known as 1271 Avenue of the Americas) | type = Public | traded_as = {{NYSE was|TIME}} (until 1990, 2014–2018) | founders = Henry Luce<br>Briton Hadden | founded = {{Start date and age|1922|11|28}}<br>{{Start date and age|2014|6|6}} (Spin-off) | defunct = <!-- {{End date and age|1990|1|10}} -->{{End date and age|2018|1|31}} (Spin-off) | fate = Merged with Warner Communications to form Time Warner; later spun off and acquired by Meredith Corporation which eventually merged with Dotdash to form Dotdash Meredith (now People Inc.) in 2021 | successors = People Inc.<br>Warner Bros. Discovery | owner = Time Warner (1990–2014) | hq_location = 225 Liberty Street | hq_location_city = New York City | hq_location_country = U.S. | key_people = Joseph A. Ripp<br>(executive chairman)<br>Rich Battista<br>(president and CEO) | industry = {{ubl|Digital media|Publishing|Events}} | revenue = {{down}} US$3.1 billion | revenue_year = 2015 | operating_income = {{down}} −US$823 million | income_year = 2015 | net_income = {{down}} −US$881 million | net_income_year = 2015 | assets = {{down}} US$4.8 billion | assets_year = 2015 | equity = {{down}} US$1.8 billion | equity_year = 2015 | num_employees = 7,200 | num_employees_year = 2016 | parent = | divisions = {{Plainlist| * Time Inc. International * Time Inc. India }} | subsid = {{Plainlist| * HelloGiggles * Viant Technologies * Xumo (50%) * Foundry * Fansided Network * Sports Illustrated Play }} | footnotes = <ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/digital/news/rich-battista-time-inc-ceo-1201859077/|title=Rich Battista Named Time Inc. CEO As Joe Ripp Steps Aside for Health Reasons|first=Todd|last=Spangler|work=Variety|publisher=Penske Media Corporation|location=Los Angeles|date=September 13, 2016|access-date=September 13, 2016}}</ref><ref name="yahoo.com">{{cite web|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/TIME/financials?p=TIME|title=TIME Income Statement - Balance Sheet - Cash Flow - Time Inc. Common Stock Stock - Yahoo Finance}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=TIME+Profile|title=Time Inc. Profile|work=Yahoo! Finance|publisher=Oath Inc.|location=New York City|author=Yahoo! Finance Staff|access-date=May 29, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-hellogiggles-time-20151019-story.html|title=Why Zooey Deschanel's media startup HelloGiggles sold to Time Inc.|first=Paresh|last=Dave|work=Los Angeles Times|location=Los Angeles|date=October 19, 2015|access-date=October 19, 2015}}</ref> }} '''Time Inc.''' (also referred to as '''Time & Life, Inc.''' after its two former flagship magazines) was an American worldwide mass media corporation founded on November 28, 1922, by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden. Based in New York City, the company owned and published over 100 magazine brands, including its namesake ''Time'', ''Sports Illustrated'', ''Travel + Leisure'', ''Food & Wine'', ''Fortune'', ''People'', ''InStyle'', ''Life'', ''Golf Magazine'', ''Southern Living'', ''Essence'', ''Real Simple'', and ''Entertainment Weekly''. It also operated subsidiaries alongside Time Inc. UK (later sold and rebranded as TI Media), whose major titles included ''What's on TV'', ''NME'', ''Country Life'', and ''Wallpaper.'' Additionally, Time Inc. managed over 60 websites and digital-only titles, such as ''MyRecipes'', ''Extra Crispy'', ''TheSnug'', HelloGiggles, and ''MIMI''.
In 1990, Time Inc. merged with Warner Communications to form the media conglomerate Time Warner (now Warner Bros. Discovery), with Time Inc. continuing as a subsidiary. In 2014, to focus on its three entertainment divisions, Warner Bros., Turner, and HBO, Time Warner spun off Time Inc. as a public company trading on the New York Stock Exchange. In 2018, the Meredith Corporation acquired Time Inc. for $2.8 billion.<ref name="wwd">{{cite journal |url=http://wwd.com/business-news/media/time-inc-first-day-meredith-corp-more-changes-to-come-11134819/ |title=Time Inc., Now Meredith and More Changes to Come |date= |last= |first= |journal=Women's Wear Daily |access-date=}}</ref> Three years later, Meredith was acquired by IAC and merged with Dotdash to form Dotdash Meredith (now People Inc.), resulting in IAC gaining most of the former Time Inc. assets, notably excluding ''Time'' magazine, which Meredith sold to Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne in 2018.
==History== ===Beginnings=== Nightly discussions regarding the concept of a news magazine led founders Henry Luce and Briton Hadden, both age 23, to quit their jobs in 1922. Later that year, they formed Time Inc. Having raised $86,000 of a $100,000 goal, they published the first issue of ''Time'' on March 3, 1923, marking the debut of the first weekly news magazine in the United States.<ref name="History of TIME">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/archive/collections/0,21428,c_time_history,00.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050304031329/http://www.time.com/time/archive/collections/0,21428,c_time_history,00.shtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 4, 2005|title=History of TIME|magazine=Time|publisher=Time Inc.|location=New York City|access-date=June 6, 2016}}</ref> Initially, Luce served as business manager while Hadden acted as editor-in-chief, with the two alternating the titles of president and secretary-treasurer annually. Upon Hadden's sudden death in 1929, Luce assumed his partner's position.
===Growth=== Luce launched the business magazine ''Fortune'' in February 1930 and created/founded the pictorial ''Life'' magazine in 1936, and launched ''House & Home'' in 1952 and ''Sports Illustrated'' in 1954. He also produced ''The March of Time'' radio and newsreel series. By the mid-1960s, Time Inc. was the largest and most prestigious magazine publisher in the world. (Dwight Macdonald, a ''Fortune'' staffer during the 1930s, referred to him as "Il Luce", a play on the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who was called "Il Duce".) Once ambitious to become Secretary of State in a Republican administration, Luce wrote a famous article in ''Life'' magazine in 1941, called "The American Century", which defined the role of American foreign policy for the remainder of the 20th century, and perhaps beyond.<ref name=TIME-Obit-1967-03-10 />
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, aware that most publishers were opposed to him, issued a decree in 1943 that blocked all publishers and media executives from visits to combat areas; he put General George Marshall in charge of enforcement. The main target was Luce, who had long opposed FDR. Historian Alan Brinkley argues the move was "badly mistaken", for had Luce been allowed to travel, he would have been an enthusiastic cheerleader for American forces around the globe. But stranded in New York City, Luce's frustration and anger expressed itself in hard-edged partisanship.{{sfn|Brinkley|2010|pages=302–303}} Luce, supported by Editor T. S. Matthews, appointed Whittaker Chambers as acting Foreign News editor in 1944, despite the feuds Chambers had with reporters in the field.{{sfn|Brinkley|2010|pages=322–393}}
In the 1950s, the Time Inc. executive Brumbaugh made presentations to the Post Office Department to explain how Time Inc. was using a zoning system to speed the delivery of its magazines. Although the Post Office Department had instigated zones in 1943, they were inconsistently applied. As cited in FYI, Time Inc.'s internal newsletter, {{"'}}Fewer than 40% of the cities were properly zoned,' he recalls. 'I went to the Post Office Department and showed them how we were making the zone system work.{{'"}} In 1963, the United States Post Office introduced ZIP codes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://postalmuseum.si.edu/americasmailingindustry/Time-Inc.html |title=Time, Inc. |access-date=March 29, 2018 }}</ref>
Luce, who remained editor-in-chief of all his publications until 1964, maintained a position as an influential member of the Republican Party.<ref name=TIME-Obit-1967-03-10>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,836722,00.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130105003801/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,836722,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 5, 2013 |title=Henry R. Luce: End of a Pilgrimage|magazine=Time|publisher=Time Inc.|location=New York City |date=March 10, 1967 |access-date=November 28, 2017}}</ref> Holding anti-communist sentiments, he used ''Time'' to support right-wing dictatorships in the name of fighting communism. An instrumental figure behind the so-called "China Lobby", he played a large role in steering American foreign policy and popular sentiment in favor of Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek and his wife Soong Mei-ling, in their war against the Japanese. The Chiangs appeared in the cover of ''Time'' eleven times between 1927 and 1955.<ref name="Time Magizine search">{{cite magazine |url=http://search.time.com/results.html?N=46&Ntt=Chiang |title=Time magazine historical search|magazine=Time |publisher=Time Inc.|location=New York City|access-date=June 19, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120630081514/http://search.time.com/results.html?N=46&Ntt=Chiang|archive-date=June 30, 2012}}</ref>
In 1961, Time Inc. entered the book publishing business that combined the resources of their magazines with the formation of Time Life. It later became the holding company for television and radio stations and had a film production division, Time Life Films and a record label. In January 1968, Time Inc. acquired Boston-based Little, Brown and Company for $17 million. The publisher was later integrated into the Time Warner Book Group after its merger with Warner Books, and then renamed the Hachette Book Group following its 2006 acquisition by Hachette Livre.<ref>{{cite news|last=Millot|first=Jim|title=Time-Life Books Gets Set for a Return |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/60600-time-life-books-gets-set-for-a-return.html|magazine=Publishers Weekly|date=January 10, 2014|access-date=April 7, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1968/01/17/archives/time-inc-buying-little-brown-talks-also-open-to-acquire-the-newark.html|title=TIME INC. BUYING LITTLE BROWN, Talks Also Open to Acquire The Newark News|newspaper=The New York Times|date=January 17, 1968 |access-date=April 7, 2024}}</ref>
Time Inc. also owned pioneering cable network Home Box Office (HBO).<ref name=hboandbarry />
In 1974, Time Inc. launched the celebrity-focused magazine ''People''.
In February 1985, Time Inc. announced that it would acquire the Birmingham, Alabama-based Southern Progress Corporation, publishers of the ''Southern Living'' magazine for $480 million.<ref>{{cite news |title=TIME INC. WILL BUY MAGAZINES |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/22/business/time-inc-will-buy-magazines.html |newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 22, 1985|access-date=April 7, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/02/22/southern-living-sold-in-biggest-magazine-deal-ever/ |title=SOUTHERN LIVING SOLD IN BIGGEST MAGAZINE DEAL EVER|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=February 22, 1985|access-date=April 7, 2024}}</ref>
In 1987, Time Inc. and Robin Wolaner launched the parent-focused magazine ''Parenting'' (Time Inc. later purchased the remaining stake in the magazine held by Wolaner on January 5, 1990, several days before the completion of merger with Warner Communications)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-01-05-fi-434-story.html|title=P.M. BRIEF: Time Buys Rest of Parenting|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=January 5, 1990|access-date=April 7, 2024}}</ref>
===Merger with Warner Communications and Time Warner ownership=== In 1987, Time Inc. lost its ownership stake in the USA Network, which it held since 1981.<ref name=hboandbarry /> The merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications was announced on March 4, 1989.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/05/us/time-inc-and-warner-to-merge-creating-largest-media-company.html|title=Time Inc. and Warner to Merge, Creating Largest Media Company|date=March 5, 1989|work=The New York Times}}</ref> During the summer of that same year, Paramount Communications (formerly Gulf and Western Industries) launched a $12.2 billion hostile bid to acquire Time Inc. in an attempt to end a stock swap merger deal between Time and Warner Communications. This caused Time to raise its bid for Warner to $14.9 billion in cash and stock. Paramount responded by filing a lawsuit in a Delaware court to block the Time/Warner merger. The court ruled twice in favor of Time, forcing Paramount to drop both the Time acquisition and the lawsuit, and allowing the formation of the two companies' merger which was completed on January 10, 1990. Effectively, Time took over Warner, resulting in a new corporate structure and the new combined company being called "Time Warner" with Time remaining as a subsidiary of said company.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fortune.com/2018/02/02/the-healthiness-of-renewal/?xid=gn_editorspicks |title=On Groundhog Day, A Meditation on the Healthiness of Renewal |last=Leaf |first=Clifton |magazine=Fortune |date=February 2, 2018 |access-date=October 8, 2018}}</ref><ref>Bill Saporito,[http://fortune.com/2012/11/21/the-insde-story-of-time-warner/ "The Inside Story of Time Warner",''Fortune'', November 20,1989]</ref>
In November 1990, Time Inc. announced that it would acquire the remaining stake in Hippocrates Partners (Time earlier purchased its 50% stake in July 1988).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/06/business/the-media-business-time-s-deal-for-magazine.html|title=THE MEDIA BUSINESS: Time's Deal for Magazine|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 6, 1990|access-date=April 7, 2024}}</ref>
The Pathfinder website was launched in 1994, with content from the Time, People and Fortune magazines. It was shut down in 1999.<ref>[http://news.cnet.com/2100-1023-224939.html Time Warner to shutter Pathfinder] Cnet News, April 26, 1999</ref>
On October 20, 2000, Time Inc. announced that it would acquire the magazine division of Times Mirror Company that includes ''Field & Stream'', ''Golf Magazine'', ''Outdoor Life'', ''Popular Science'', ''Skiing'' and ''Yachting'' from the Tribune Company for $475 million, the merger was subsequently completed in November of that year, forming Time4Media (the magazines in the division, with the exception of ''Golf Magazine'' and the Parenting Group were sold to Bonnier Group in 2007)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/2000/10/21/time-warners-time-inc-is-purchasing-tribunes-times-mirror-magazines/|title=Time Warner's Time Inc. is Purchasing Tribune's Times Mirror Magazines|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|date=October 21, 2000|access-date=April 6, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/2000/10/20/deals/timesmirror/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011109102822/http://money.cnn.com/2000/10/20/deals/timesmirror/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 9, 2001|title=Time buys magazine unit|website=CNNMoney|date=October 20, 2000|access-date=April 7, 2024}}</ref>
In January 2005, Time Inc. announced that it would purchase a remaining stake in New York City-based Essence Communications, publishers of the ''Essence'' magazine that it not already own. (Time already purchased 49% stake in the magazine in 2000)<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2005/01/05/time-to-acquire-remaining-essence-communications-shares/|title=Time to Acquire Remaining Essence Communications Shares|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=January 5, 2005|access-date=April 7, 2024}}</ref>
In 2008, Time Inc. launched Maghound, an internet-based magazine membership service that featured approximately 300 magazine titles from both Time Inc. brands and external publishing companies.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/2008/06/27/time-inc-maghound-tech-cx_pco_0627paidcontent.html|title=The Netflix Hope: Time Inc's Maghound Set To Launch in Sept|work=Forbes|date=June 27, 2008|access-date=July 28, 2014}}</ref> On January 19, 2010, Time Inc. acquired StyleFeeder, a personal shopping engine.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wauters|first=Robin |title=Confirmed:Time Inc. buys personal shopping engine StyleFeeder |url=https://techcrunch.com/2010/01/19/time-buys-stylefeeder/ |work=TechCrunch|publisher=Oath Inc.|location=United States|access-date=August 19, 2013|date=January 19, 2010}}</ref>
In August 2010, Time Inc. announced that Ann S. Moore, its chairman and chief executive, would step down as CEO and be replaced by Jack Griffin, an executive with Meredith Corporation, the nation's second-largest publisher of consumer magazines.<ref>{{cite news |last=Carr|first=David|title=Ex-Meredith officer to be Time's chief|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/05/business/media/05time.html?src=busln&_r=0|access-date=August 19, 2013|work=The New York Times|date=August 4, 2010}}</ref> In September 2010, Time Inc. entered into a licensing agreement with Kolkata-based ABP Group, one of India's largest media conglomerates, to publish ''Fortune India'' magazine and the yearly Fortune India 500 list.<ref>{{cite news |last=Goyal|first=Anubhav|title=Fortune launches Indian edition |url=http://www.medianewsline.com/fortune-launches-indian-edition/ |access-date=August 19, 2013|work=Media Newsline |date=September 27, 2010 |archive-date=March 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160329141624/http://www.medianewsline.com/fortune-launches-indian-edition/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> Griffin was ousted after a brief tenure, eventually being replaced by Laura Lang, who served about a year.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2011/11/30/news/companies/time_inc_ceo/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180116202118/http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/30/news/companies/time_inc_ceo/|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 16, 2018|title=Time Inc. names ad firm chief as new CEO|first=Blake|last=Ellis |website=CNNMoney|access-date=December 25, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/2013/07/22/news/companies/joe-ripp-time-ceo/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726030150/http://money.cnn.com/2013/07/22/news/companies/joe-ripp-time-ceo/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 26, 2013|title=Magazine publisher Time Inc. taps veteran executive Joe Ripp to be CEO|first=James O'Toole and Chris|last=Isidore|date=July 22, 2013|website=CNNMoney|access-date=December 25, 2018}}</ref>
===Split=== On March 6, 2013, Time Warner announced plans to spin off Time Inc. into a publicly traded company.<ref name="Time Inc. Lays Out Restructuring">{{cite web|url=http://www.wwd.com/media-news/fashion-memopad/time-inc-lays-out-restructuring-7407860?src=nl/mornReport/20140205|title=Time Inc. Lays Out Restructuring|work=WWD|date=February 5, 2014|access-date=February 5, 2014|last=Steigrad|first=Alexandra}}</ref> Time Warner's chairman/CEO Jeff Bewkes said that the split would allow Time Warner to focus entirely on its television and film businesses, and Time Inc. to focus on its core print media businesses.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lieberman |first=David|url=https://deadline.com/2013/03/time-warner-publishing-magazines-spin-off-447281/|title=Time Warner plans to spin off Time Inc |website=Deadline Hollywood|date=March 6, 2013|access-date=April 20, 2013}}</ref> It was announced in May 2014 that Time Inc. would become a publicly traded company on June 6 of that year.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lieberman|first=David|url=https://deadline.com/2014/05/time-inc-to-go-public-on-june-6-726790/|title=Time Inc To Go Public On June 6|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=May 8, 2014|access-date=July 28, 2014}}</ref> The spin-off was completed on June 9, 2014.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thestreet.com/story/12737471/1/why-time-warner-twx-stock-is-down-today.html |title=Time Warner (TWX) Completes Time Inc. (TIME) Spinoff|work=TheStreet.com|date=June 9, 2014|access-date=July 28, 2014}}</ref> As of September 13, 2016, Rich Battista was promoted to president and CEO, replacing Joseph A. Ripp.
Time Inc. purchased American Express Publishing Corporation's suite of titles, including ''Travel + Leisure'', ''Food & Wine'', ''Departures'', ''Black Ink'' and ''Executive Travel'' on October 1, 2013.<ref>{{cite web |title=Media It's Official: Time Inc. Buys AmEx's Food & Wine, Travel & Leisure Magazines|url=http://adage.com/article/media/time-buys-amex-s-food-wine-travel-leisure/244065/|work=Ad Age|access-date=October 11, 2013|date=September 10, 2013}}</ref> On January 14, 2014, Time Inc. announced that Colin Bodell was joining the company in the newly created position of executive vice president and chief technology officer.<ref name="Time Inc. Names Colin Bodell Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer">{{cite web |url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140114006660/en/Time-Names-Colin-Bodell-Executive-Vice-President#.Uxu2KRAYudk | title= Time Inc. Names Colin Bodell Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer|work=Business Wire|author=<!--Business Wire Staff-->|date=January 14, 2014 |access-date=January 14, 2014}}</ref> However, he was let go May 19, 2016.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kelly|first=Keith |url=https://nypost.com/2016/05/09/time-inc-fires-cto-colin-bodell/|title=Time Inc. fires CTO Colin Bodell|work=New York Post|access-date=June 6, 2016|date=May 9, 2016}}</ref> On February 5, 2014, Time Inc. announced that it was cutting 500 jobs<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/05/business/media/time-inc-announces-layoffs-as-it-prepares-to-go-public.html|title=Time Inc. to Cut 500 Jobs Ahead of Spinoff|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 4, 2014|date=February 4, 2014|last=Kaufman|first=Leslie}}</ref> with most of the layoffs at American Express Publishing.<ref name="Time Inc. Lays Out Restructuring"/> From April 2014 to mid-2017, the Chairman of Time Inc. was Joseph A. Ripp, who had been Chief Executive since September 2013 and continued as Executive Chairman when replaced as CEO by Battista.<ref>{{cite web|title=Joseph A. Ripp|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=506450&privcapId=639301|work=Bloomberg|access-date=May 31, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://d1lge852tjjqow.cloudfront.net/CIK-0001591517/dd332053-562d-4dba-8665-8d2bb121f029.pdf?noexit=true|title=Time Inc.|work=Edgar Online|access-date=June 6, 2016}}</ref> Though Ripp had intended to remain Executive Chairman until 2018,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://fortune.com/2016/09/13/time-inc-new-ceo/|title=Time Inc. CEO Joe Ripp Steps Down As New Chief Promises Growth Is Coming|last=Ingram|first=Mathew|date=2016-09-13|work=Fortune|access-date=2018-08-06|language=en}}</ref> he wound up leaving the board in 2017 and John Fahey served as non-executive chairman for the months prior to the company's sale to Meredith.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170510005519/en/John-Fahey-Appointed-Non-Executive-Chairman-Time-Dan|title=John Fahey Appointed Non-Executive Chairman of Time Inc.; Dan Rosensweig Nominated to Board of Directors|date=2017-05-10|work=Business Wire|access-date=2018-08-06 |language=en}}</ref> On May 28, 2015, Time Inc. announced the purchase of entertainment and sports news site FanSided.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.si.com/more-sports/2015/05/26/time-inc-sports-illustrated-fansided|title=Time Inc. acquires FanSided, a sports and entertainment digital network|author=<!--- Not stated --->|magazine=Sports Illustrated|date=May 26, 2015|access-date=August 21, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://wwd.com/business-news/media/time-inc-fansided-deals-10135079/|title=Time Inc. Buys FanSided, Talks Future Deals|last=Steigrad |first=Alexandra|work=Women's Wear Daily|date=May 26, 2015|access-date=November 28, 2017}}</ref> In July 2015, ''Time Inc.'' acquired League Athletics in Tucson, SportsSignup in Saratoga Springs, and {{Proper name|iScore}} in Los Alamitos.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wwd.com/business-news/media/time-inc-sports-illustrated-acquisitions-10177842/ |title=Time Inc. Invests in Sports Illustrated With Three Acquisitions|last=Steigrad|first=Alexandra|work=Women's Wear Daily|date=July 7, 2015 |access-date=November 28, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/07/08/time-inc-youth-sports-acquisitions/29862767/|title=Time Inc. expands youth sports business with acquisitions|last=Yu|first=Roger|work=USA Today|date=July 8, 2015 |access-date=November 28, 2017}}</ref> The three companies will be a part of Sports Illustrated Play.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://variety.com/2016/digital/news/time-inc-youtube-drive-fast-lane-daily-1201708135/|title=Time Inc. Acquires Two YouTube Auto Channels |work=Variety|access-date=June 6, 2016|date=February 17, 2016|last=Spangler|first=Todd}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150707006416/en/Time-Creates-Sports-Illustrated-Play-Business-Devoted|title=Time Inc. Creates Sports Illustrated Play, a New Business Devoted to Youth Sports|work=Business Wire|access-date=June 6, 2016|date=July 7, 2016}}</ref>
After attempting a few TV shows in 2014 and 2015, the company formed Time Inc. Productions in 2016 as its in-house production company.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Applefeld Olson |first1=Cathy |title=At Time Inc. Productions, It's All About the Brands - Cynopsis Media |url=http://www.cynopsis.com/cyncity/at-time-inc-productions-its-all-about-the-brand/ |access-date=November 9, 2018 |work=Cynopsis Media |date=January 11, 2018}}</ref> On February 11, 2016, Time Inc. announced that it has acquired Viant, a leading people based marketing platform and owner of MySpace.<ref>{{cite web|title=Time Inc Acquires Viant, Owner Of Myspace And A Vast Ad Tech Network |url=https://techcrunch.com/2016/02/11/time-inc-acquires-viant-owner-of-myspace-and-a-vast-ad-tech-network/|work=TechCrunch|publisher=Oath Inc.|location=United States|access-date=February 11, 2016|date=February 11, 2016|first=Ingrid|last=Lunden}}</ref>
=== Meredith and IAC purchases === In February 2017, it was reported that Meredith Corporation and a group of investors led by Edgar Bronfman Jr. were considering purchasing Time Inc.<ref>{{cite news|last=Trachtenberg|first=Jeffrey|date=February 7, 2017|title=Meredith, Bronfman Move Forward in Effort to Acquire Time Inc.|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/meredith-bronfman-move-forward-in-their-pursuit-of-time-inc-1486514427?tesla=y|access-date=February 8, 2017}}</ref> In 2016, Time Inc. acquired Bizrate Insights.<ref>{{cite news|last=O'Shea|first=Chris|title=Time Inc. Buys Survey Company BizRate Insights|work=AdWeek|date=September 7, 2016|url =http://www.adweek.com/digital/time-inc-buys-survey-company-bizrate-insights/|access-date=June 7, 2017}}</ref> On April 28, 2017, the company's board of directors dropped the plan of selling the company and instead focus on growth strategies.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/28/business/time-inc-decides-not-to-sell-itself.html |title=Time Inc. Decides Not to Sell Itself|last=Ember|first=Sydney|work=The New York Times|date=April 28, 2017|access-date=November 27, 2017}}</ref>
On November 26, 2017, it was announced that Meredith Corporation would acquire Time Inc. in a $2.8 billion deal. $640 million in backing will be provided by Koch Equity Development, but the Koch family will not have a board seat or otherwise influence the company's operations.<ref name="Variety 2017">{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2017/biz/news/meredith-corp-time-inc-acquisition-merger-koch-brothers-1202623214/|title=Meredith Corp. Acquires Time Inc. in $2.8 Billion Koch Brothers-Backed Deal|last1=Nyren|first1=Erin|last2=Littleton |first2=Cynthia|date=November 26, 2017|work=Variety|access-date=November 27, 2017}}</ref><ref name="NYT 2017">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/26/business/dealbook/time-inc-meredith-corporation-koch-brothers.html|title=Time Inc. Sells Itself to Meredith Corp., Backed by Koch Brothers|last1=Ember|first1=Sydney|last2=Ross|first2=Andrew|work=The New York Times|date=November 26, 2017|access-date=November 27, 2017}}</ref> Prior to the sale closing in January 2018, Time Inc. sold Essence Communications to Richelieu Dennis, the founder of hair- and skin-care products maker Sundial Brands.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Spangler |first1=Todd |title=Time Inc. Sells Essence to Black-Owned Independent Venture |url=https://variety.com/2018/biz/news/time-inc-sells-essence-communications-1202652575/ |access-date=November 9, 2018 |work=Variety |date=January 3, 2018}}</ref> In January 2018, Meredith removed signage and references to Time, Inc., and the Time, Inc. website was redirected to the Meredith's website.<ref name="itsover">{{cite journal |url=https://www.cjr.org/business_of_news/time-inc-meredith.php |title=Who killed Time Inc.? |journal=Columbia Journalism Review |last=Gold |first=Howard R. |date=February 1, 2018 |access-date=February 10, 2018}}</ref>
In March 2018, only six weeks after the closure of the deal, Meredith announced that it would lay off 1,200 employees, and explore the sale of ''Time'', ''Fortune'', ''Money'', and ''Sports Illustrated''. The company felt that these brands did not align with its core, lifestyle-oriented properties.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2018/biz/news/meredith-layoffs-1200-time-inc-magazine-sale-time-si-fortune-money-1202732892/ |title=Meredith Laying Off 1,200, Will Explore Sale of Time, SI, Fortune and Money Brands|last=Spangler|first=Todd|date=2018-03-21|work=Variety |access-date=2018-03-22|language=en-US}}</ref>
Howard Milstein had announced on February 7, 2018, that he would acquire ''Golf Magazine'' from Meredith,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://nypost.com/2018/02/07/banker-shells-out-big-bucks-to-buy-golf-magazine/|title=Banker shells out big bucks to buy Golf Magazine |date=2018-02-08|work=New York Post|access-date=2018-03-22|language=en-US}}</ref> and Time Inc. UK was sold to the British private equity group Epiris (later rebranded to TI Media) in late February.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/feb/26/marie-claire-publisher-time-inc-uk-sold-epiris|title=Marie Claire publisher Time Inc UK sold to private equity group|last=Sweney|first=Mark|date=2018-02-26|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-03-22}}</ref> In September 2018, Meredith announced that it would re-sell ''Time'' to Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne for $190 million. Although Benioff is the chairman and co-CEO of Salesforce.com, ''Time'' will remain separate from the company, and Benioff will not be involved in its daily operations.<ref name=ShuSept2018>{{Cite news |url=https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/16/marc-and-lynne-benioff-will-buy-times-magazine-from-meredith-for-190m/|title=Marc and Lynne Benioff will buy Time magazine from Meredith for $190M |work=TechCrunch |date=September 17, 2018 |last=Shu |first=Catherine |access-date=October 8, 2018 }}</ref> In November 2018, Meredith announced to sell ''Fortune'' to Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon for $150 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/11/fortune-magazine-sale-chatchaval-jiaravanon|title=Fortune's New Buyer Isn't Marc Benioff—But for $150 Million, Who Cares!|first=Joe|last=Pompeo|website=The Hive|date=November 9, 2018 |access-date=December 25, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2018/11/09/thai-business-tycoon-buys-fortune-magazine-for-150-million/|title=Thai business tycoon buys Fortune magazine for $150 million|first=Keith J.|last=Kelly|date=November 9, 2018|access-date=December 25, 2018}}</ref> In December 2021, Meredith was acquired by IAC and merged with Dotdash to form Dotdash Meredith, which then changed to People Inc. in 2025;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/business/2021/12/01/meredith-corporation-sale-tv-stations-gray-television-iac-dotdash-final/8823799002/|title=Sale of Meredith Corp. final as Gray Television, IAC/Interactive's Dotdash take over|first=Tyler|last=Jett|publisher=Des Moines Register|date=December 1, 2021|accessdate=April 10, 2023}}</ref><ref name=timeincdiller>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/business/media/dotdash-buys-meredith-magazines.html|title=Barry Diller's Dotdash Agrees to Buy Meredith, a Magazine Giant|first=Marc|last=Tracy|work=The New York Times|date=October 6, 2021|accessdate=April 10, 2023}}</ref> Barry Diller, the head of IAC,<ref name=timeincdiller /> had previous relations with Time Inc. in the early 1980s when he was head of Paramount and helped make Time Inc. at one point a co-owner of the USA Network.<ref name=hboandbarry>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/08/28/business/barry-diller-s-latest-starring-role.html|title=Barry Diller's Latest Starring Role|first=Sandra|last=Salmans|work=The New York Times|date=August 28, 1983 |accessdate=February 14, 2022}}</ref>
===Offices=== {{multiple image | align = right | direction = horizontal | total_width = 440 | image1 = Time-life building.jpg | alt1 = | width1 = | caption1 = | image2 = Time-life statue.jpg | alt2 = | width2 = | caption2 = | footer_align = center | footer = Time & Life Building on the 1271 Avenue of the Americas 1960–2014 location in New York City and the Time & Life statue in front of it.}} ''Time'''s offices were originally in the Chrysler Building. In 1938, they moved to the seven upper floors of the newly built 1 Rockefeller Plaza in Rockefeller Center.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1938/05/02/98130355.pdf|title=Business Moving Marked by Speed|date=May 2, 1938|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 17, 2021|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In 1960, they moved to fifteen floors of a new building, also in Rockefeller Center, 1271 Avenue of the Americas.<ref>"A New Home for 'Life': Rockefeller Center moves toward West", ''Life'', April 4, 1960, [https://books.google.com/books?id=G08EAAAAMBAJ&q=sixth&pg=PA17 p. 17–23]</ref> ''Time'' rented additional offices in the adjacent 135 West 50th Street building. In 2014, ''Time'' moved to Brookfield Place in lower Manhattan,<ref>{{cite web |date=May 22, 2014 |title=Time Inc. to Move to Lower Manhattan's Brookfield Place |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-05-22/time-inc-to-move-to-lower-manhattan-s-brookfield-place |access-date=October 17, 2016 |website=Bloomberg}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Morris |first=Keiko |date=May 23, 2014 |title=Time Inc. to Leave Midtown After 55 Years |work=The Wall Street Journal |url-access=subscription |url=https://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303980004579577870753311840.html |access-date=July 15, 2021 |issn=0099-9660}}</ref> where it remained until its ultimate demise four years later.
When they were being built, both the Rockefeller Plaza and Avenue of the Americas buildings were given the name "Time & Life Building" at the time after their main soon-to-be tenant, but also lost it when that tenant moved elsewhere. This incidentally, did not apply to their 153 New Bond Street, London W1Y0AA UK premises; it too was baptized "Time & Life Building" when it was built in 1951–53 as the then-European headquarters of "Time & Life International, Ltd.", but contrary to its New York City counterparts, it kept the name after the company had vacated the premises in late-August 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://manchesterhistory.net/architecture/1940/timelife.html|title=Time & Life Building|website=ManchesterHistory.net}}; {{cite web|url=https://www.wuv.de/Archiv/Time-Life-zieht-sich-aus-Deutschland-zur%C3%BCck|first=Petra|last=Schwegler|title=Time Life zieht sich aus Deutschland zurück|date=10 September 2009|website=WuV.de|language=german}}</ref>
==Leadership== In the early years, when the company was just ''Time'' magazine, Luce served as business manager while Hadden was editor-in-chief, and they annually alternated the positions of president and secretary-treasurer. On Hadden's sudden death in 1929 Luce took his position and business management was entrusted to Roy E. Larsen, who had been one of their first hires. Luce cultivated a philosophy of "church and state", where the editorial and business management were separate up to the board of directors level. (This was functionally ended with the departure of McManus from the Time Warner board, and formally by Ripp in 2013).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://adage.com/article/media/time-editors-report-business-side-shakeup/245046/|title=Time Inc. Shakeup: Editors to Report to Business Side, Editor-in-Chief Martha Nelson Exits|website=adage.com|date=October 31, 2013 |access-date=December 25, 2018}}</ref>
===Editors-in-chief=== * 1929–1964 Henry Luce (then "Editorial Chairman" to his death in 1967) * 1964–1979 Hedley Donovan * 1979–1987 Henry Anatole Grunwald * 1987–1994 Jason McManus
McManus left the board of what had become Time Warner shortly before retiring,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.city-journal.org/html/time-bombs-12340.html|title=Time Bombs|date=December 23, 2015|website=City Journal|access-date=December 25, 2018}}</ref> and his replacement Norman Pearlstine and successors John Huey (2006–2012) and Martha Nelson (2013) were never directors of the parent. The title was then abolished.
===Presidents=== * Luce (alternating with Hadden to 1929) to 1939 * 1939–1960 Roy E. Larsen (then chairman executive committee to 1969, then vice chairman to shortly before his death in 1979) * 1960–1969 James A. Linen<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/02/obituaries/james-linen-3d-ex-publisher-and-president-at-time-inc-dies.html|title=NY Times obituary|website=The New York Times |access-date=December 25, 2018}}</ref> * 1969–1980 James R. Shepley<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/03/obituaries/james-r-shepley-is-dead-at-71-chief-of-time-inc-from-69-to-80.html|title=James R. Shepley Is Dead at 71; Chief of Time Inc. From '69 to '80|first=Susan Heller|last=Anderson|date=November 3, 1988|access-date=December 25, 2018|website=The New York Times}}</ref> * 1980–1986 J. Richard Munro * 1986–1990 Nicholas J. Nicholas Jr.
Linen became chairman of the executive committee for a time after serving as president, then was succeeded by Shepley, who retained that position for a time after he, in turn, stepped down as president.
===Chairmen of the board=== * 1929–1942 Henry Luce * 1942–1960 Maurice T. Moore (husband of Luce's sister Elisabeth Luce Moore) * 1960–1980 Andrew Heiskell * 1980–1986 Ralph P. Davidson<ref>{{cite news |title=Ralph P. Davidson, former chairman of Time Inc. and Kennedy Center, dies at 86 |date=2014-08-02 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412235519/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/ralph-p-davidson-former-chairman-of-time-inc-and-kennedy-center-dies-at-86/2014/08/02/905dfed4-166f-11e4-9e3b-7f2f110c6265_story.html |archive-date=2021-04-12 |url-status=live |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/ralph-p-davidson-former-chairman-of-time-inc-and-kennedy-center-dies-at-86/2014/08/02/905dfed4-166f-11e4-9e3b-7f2f110c6265_story.html}}</ref> * 1986–1990 J. Richard Munro
Davidson also served as chairman of the executive committee after stepping down as chairman of the board. Munro was chairman of the executive committee of Time Warner from 1990 to 1996.
===Chief executive officers=== * 1964?–1980 Heiskell * 1980–1990 Munro On the merger with Warner Communications Munro and then Nicholas were co-CEOs of Time Warner with Steve Ross until 1992 when Ross squeezed Nicholas out.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-02-21-fi-2743-story.html|title=Co-CEO Nicholas Ousted in Clash at Time Warner : * Communications: New President Gerald M. Levin pioneered Time's entry into cable programming |first1=Victor F.|last1=Zonana|first2=Alan|last2=Citron|date=February 21, 1992|access-date=December 25, 2018|newspaper=LA Times}}</ref> Gerald M. Levin, who had come up through Time's non-publishing operations, succeeded Ross later that year and in 2002 was succeeded by Richard Parsons who had never been connected to legacy Time Inc. (his successor Jeff Bewkes, leader of the parent when Time Inc. was spun off, had like Levin come from the non-publishing operations).
===Heads of Time within a parent=== The Time, Inc. (the comma remained part of the formal title until the Warner merger but the company ceased to use it in 1933)<ref>[http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/nyhs/timeoncoverview/bioghist.html Guide to the Time Inc. Records Overview]{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, New York University Library</ref> corporate entity diversified out of publishing in the 1970s and 1980s, purchasing what was later spun off as Temple-Inland paper company and various broadcasting and cable television operations such as HBO and what became Time Warner Cable. As the distinction between the overall corporation and the magazine operation grew, the position that had been "Group Vice President, Magazines" or "Executive Vice President, Magazines" became president and chief executive of a "magazine group" in 1985<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1985/11/21/Time-Inc-Thursday-announced-a-restructuring-of-its-magazine/4090501397200/ |title=Time Inc. Thursday announced a restructuring of its magazine.. |date=November 21, 1985 |access-date=October 8, 2018 |publisher=United Press International}}</ref> (under Kelso F. Sutton to 1986, and then Reginald K. Brack Jr.)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1986/12/02/2-time-inc-execs-make-a-job-swap/|title=''Chicago Tribune'',"2 Time Inc. Execs Make a Job Swap"|website=Chicago Tribune |date=December 2, 1986 |access-date=December 25, 2018}}</ref> and then became president and CEO of a newly incorporated subsidiary, "The Time Inc. Magazine Company" in 1988<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sec.gov/archives/edgar/data/1591517/000119312514089381/d627840dex31.htm|title=Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation|access-date=December 25, 2018}}</ref> (initially with John A. Meyers as chairman). In 1992, Time Warner reorganized so that the non-magazine parts of Time Inc. came directly under the parent and the Time Inc. name was downgraded to only include the magazine company, so the officers of the "Magazine Company" became the officers of what was now Time Inc. Later that year, CEO Brack shifted to chairman with Don Logan as president; he stepped down in favor of Logan as CEO in 1994 and chairman in 1997.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://variety.com/1997/scene/vpage/brack-to-exit-slot-as-time-inc-chair-1117434387/|title=Brack to exit slot as Time Inc. chair|last=Levin |first=Gary|date=1997-04-23|work=Variety|access-date=2018-08-06|language=en-US}}</ref> Logan moved up to a group oversight position including additional Time Warner operations in 2002 (Ann S. Moore succeeding him at the magazine operation) and left the company in 2005. Leaders after Moore are noted above.
== References == {{reflist|30em}}
==Bibliography== * {{cite book|first=Alan|last=Brinkley|title=The Publisher: Henry Luce and His American Century|year=2010|pages=302–303; 322–393|publisher=Vintage Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0679741541}}
== External links == {{Commons category|Time Inc.}} {{wikisource|works=or}} * {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://timeinc.com/|title=Official website}}
{{Time Inc.}} {{IAC}} {{Authority control}}
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