BBC Worldwide agrees magazine sell-off

Radio Times{jcomments on}BBC Worldwide has agreed the sale of its magazine arm which includes titles such as Radio Times and Good Food.

The commercial arm of the corporation has agreed to sell the magazines published by the BBC to the private equity firm Exponent, who own online job service Gorkana, for £121 million. The deal means Exponent has brought non-BBC branded titles outright and has been licensed to publish branded BBC magazines such as Top Gear and the Radio Times – in all 34 magazines are published by the BBC at the moment.

As the Radio Times, the television listings magazine, is not BBC branded it has been sold outright to Exponent. The BBC has published the magazine since 1923 and it is the best selling listings magazine in the country – and quite possibly the most high profile.