DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Magazine publisher Meredith Corp. said Monday it will begin distributing a Russian-language edition of More magazine late this year in Russia and neighboring countries.
The publisher of Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle and Ladies’ Home Journal said it has also licensed its Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book in Spain.
The company has been expanding the international reach of some of its most popular titles over the past year.
The agreement for More represents the second expansion for the magazine beyond the United States. More Canada, published and distributed under license by Transcontinental Media Inc., is expected to hit newsstands next month.
In November, Meredith announced plans to publish and market Better Homes and Gardens magazine in India beginning this year.
In June, the company announced an agreement with Hong Kong-based SEEC Media Group Limited to publish the Chinese version of the magazine and make it available in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.
The magazine is also distributed in Australia by Pacific Magazines.
Under terms of the multiyear licensing agreement with St. Petersburg-based Sobaka Publishing, a monthly Russian-language version of More magazine and Web site is expected to be published late this year throughout Russia and made available in neighboring Russian-speaking countries.
Launched in 1998, More has a circulation of 1.1 million in the United States. The magazine is targeted at women who are age 40 and over.
“More Russia fills a gap in the marketplace for consumers and advertisers alike,” Oleg Ryazhenov, Sobaka’s chief executive said in a statement. “There is no other magazine in the world that speaks to this demographic with such confidence and style.”
In Spain, Globus Comunicacion, a leading Spanish publisher, will publish a Spanish-language version of the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. The book will be sold in a format that gives customers the option to buy only the chapters they want.
Globus also will publish a Spanish-language gardening book under license with Meredith. Globus currently licenses from Meredith Diabetic Living magazine and a series of home project books.
Des Moines-based Meredith publishes 25 subscription magazines, approximately 200 special interest publications and it has 350 books in print. The company operates 32 Internet sites and its broadcast division operates 14 television stations.
