Reader’s Digest

“As digital becomes a driving force for our business, the economics are changing as well,” said Guth, in a statement. “Our digital issues are garnering unprecedented demand and readers have been vocal about their desire for new content on a more-frequent basis. The growing demand for Reader’s Digest is a tribute to our editorial team, led by Liz Vaccariello, who continues to guide the editorial direction of the publication in ways that resonate strongly with our reader.”

Ad pages for RD are also a factor, as they’ve increased by 30 percent since 2010.

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“As you have seen, we are very deliberately moving forward with our transformation plans for RDA,” said CEO Robert Guth in a memo that was obtained by the New York Post.

The exact number of the deal is unknown, but sources told the Post they believe it to be somewhere around or right below $5 million.

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At the time, Robert Guth, RDA’s CEO, said the company decided to sell the popular site as a “commitment to enhancing shareholder value and sharpening our strategic and financial focus on our core master brands.” However, rumors are that potential buyers for AllRecipes are eyeing the site for a lot less than most thought.

According to the New York Post, the lead candidates to buy AllRecipes are Meredith, Scripps Network and Amazon. Each is allegedly hoping to get the food site for less than $200 million. We’re not sure exactly how much analysts think AllRecipes is worth, but that seems about right to us. It’s a popular site; but a limited one. Stay tuned for more, the site is a nice brand to have, so we’re sure it’ll be sold soon.

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Even though it maintains a strong online presence, selling AllRecipes.com is part of RDA’s dedication to its central brands. “The exploration of a sale of Allrecipes demonstrates our commitment to enhancing shareholder value and sharpening our strategic and financial focus on our core master brands such as Reader’s Digest, Taste of Home and Family Handyman,” said recently appointed CEO Robert Guth.

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(Via Esquire)

Keep in mind that this is only a rumor, but according to Adweek, the biggest reason for Reader’s Digest Association (RDA) selling Every Day with Rachael Ray to Meredith yesterday was that Rachael Ray wanted more money. One source claimed that Ray was never happy with the amount of money she was getting from the magazine, and another said, “Rachael wanted a better deal, and they [RDA] [weren't] prepared to do it.”

Another problem was RDA’s contract with Ray, which kept the company from growing the title. “Because our agreement limited our participation to producing just a magazine, we were unable to expand the brand and its content across multiple platforms,” RDA’s CEO, Robert Guth, admitted. “Going forward, it was not a fit with our master brand strategy.”

Meredith apparently has a better deal in place as far as expanding the brand, but there’s no word on if the new contract includes more money for Ray.

How about that headline, by the way? We almost went with something that included “Sad Sammie” or “Not So Yum-O,” but ultimately went with “Delish” because it didn’t make us want to stab ourselves.

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The move is just more bad news for the company. Its most prominent magazine aside from Reader’s Digest, Every Day with Rachael Ray, has been getting bested by a big competitor, Food Network Magazine, for years now. On top of that ratings firms recently downgraded the company from stable to negative.

Guth clearly has his work cut out for him.

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