News Releases
NEW YORK, NY (May 7, 2008) - Meredith Corporation (NYSE:MDP) announced today that Rene Syler – former CBS News’ The Early Show anchor and author of “Good-Enough Mother” (Simon Spotlight Entertainment) – will join Parents TV. Syler will host Parents TV segments, including the channel’s first long-form show, “It Moms,” starting in June. The show will feature moms from across the country balancing work, family, and home. Additionally, Syler will videoblog her life online.
“I’m thrilled to partner with Meredith, the leader in the parenthood field,” said Rene Syler. “Joining Parents TV allows me to pull back the curtains to reveal the truth about modern mothering. I’m excited to take my platform to a new video space and reassure time-stressed moms that their kids will still emerge as happy, fully-functioning members of society – even if they can’t tell the difference between made-from-scratch cookies and the store-bought kind.”
Parents TV launched on Comcast’s signature ON DEMAND service last year and features experts from across Meredith’s well-known and highly trusted magazine brands such as Parents, Family Circle and American Baby. Meredith Video Solutions – the company’s in-house development, production and distribution unit – produces the original programming.
Original videos guide parents through every phase from conception to college, and many steps in between. The age and stage information includes topics such as: Pregnancy Basics; Baby & Toddler; Healthy Kids; It Moms; Family Life; and Doc Talk.
Viewers may also watch Parents TV on the stand-alone www.parents.tv Internet site, as well as on www.parents.com, the Web portal that serves as the launch pad for all of Meredith’s parenthood capabilities.
Meredith also announced today that it reached an agreement with News Over Wireless, the mobile arm of CBC New Media Group, LLC, to add Parents TV content to the My Local TV channel. This step augments Meredith’s multi-platform delivery strategy. The channel is available to Sprint customers via the Sprint TV service. In addition to Parents TV, the My Local TV channel offers Meredith’s Better lifestyle show and news from more than 70 local stations across the country. Sprint TV users can access the My Local TV channel for $4.95 per month.
“We set the industry standard for cross media content delivery and interaction when we launched Better – our syndicated lifestyle show and broadband channel – last year,” said Kieran Clarke, Executive VP of Meredith Video Solutions. “We are following up that success with the expansion of Parents TV. Adding a high-profile host like Rene Syler and engaging mobile distribution are the logical next steps for the channel.”
Prior to joining Parents TV, Syler anchored CBS News’ The Early Show for four years. During that time she interviewed countless leaders and celebrities, including First Lady Laura Bush and Senator John McCain. In 2007, Syler authored “Good Enough Mother/ The Perfectly Imperfect Guide to Parenting.” Through her book and Web site, GoodEnoughMother.com, she’s created a community for moms to share information, stories and resources about the challenges of motherhood. Syler is a breast cancer ambassador, a wife, and a proudly imperfect mom to two children.
About Meredith Corporation
Meredith (www.meredith.com) is one of the nation’s leading media and marketing companies with businesses centering on magazine and book publishing, television broadcasting, integrated marketing and interactive media. The Meredith Publishing Group features 25 subscription magazines – including Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies’ Home Journal, Family Circle, Parents, American Baby, Fitness and More – and publishes more than 200 special interest publications under approximately 80 titles. Meredith has more than 400 books in print. Meredith owns 12 television stations, including properties in top-25 markets Atlanta, Phoenix and Portland, OR. Additionally, Meredith has an extensive online presence that includes more than 30 Web sites and two broadband channels – Better.tv and Parents.tv. Meredith Video Solutions, the company’s in-house production unit, creates broadcast quality video based on Meredith’s highly trusted magazine brands for multi-platform delivery.
Meredith Integrated Marketing has established marketing relationships with some of America’s leading companies. Meredith’s consumer database, which contains approximately 85 million names, is one of the largest domestic databases among media companies and enables magazine and television advertisers to conduct precise targeted marketing campaigns. Meredith publishes five Spanish-language titles, making Meredith the leading publisher serving Hispanic women in the United States.
Media Contact
Patrick Taylor, Meredith Executive Director of Publishing Communications
212.551.6984 or patrick.taylor@meredith.com
Jen Harken, Meredith Corporate Communications Manager
515.284.3125 or jen.harken@meredith.com
Aaron Radelet, Sprint Corporate Communications
703.433.8246 or aaron.radelet@sprint.com