Time Inc.'s Opportunity for Change:
With its upcoming spin-off, Time Inc. has a chance to initiate some big ideas.
I’m not sure why there is so much confusion and mystery around charting a strategy that transforms the Time Inc. magazine brands into an even bigger powerhouse digital publishing empire. Everything that is being said in analyst reports and the media is old news. For years, we have witnessed the ongoing shift in media consumption patterns from legacy print media to the digital venue. Only the ignorant, arrogant or asleep could have missed this freight train. Let’s not over-complicate the components of the solution to Time Inc.’s problems. I refuse to believe that my thinking is “missing something” in terms of the challenges that Time Inc. and many other publishers face inside their businesses. So here’s my plan on rebuilding Time Inc. as it spins off into its own company. If you disagree with it, let’s argue. I am sure that investors are getting tired of this asset posting operating losses and are already in a feverish discussion about how to change the course of the company.The new company must create a new pivot point from the start. It should not abandon its print legacy—which, according to PIB numbers, still retains market dominance. But it should signal to the market that Time Inc. believes in building the widest network of new digital platforms in the media industry.
