ast month, The Times of India Group and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) officially announced the formation of Worldwide Media, a 50:50 joint venture between the two. While the media was agog with the news of the proposed JV for a while now, this was the first official acknowledgment of the same.

Worldwide Media plans to take over the publication of 29 magazines currently published by the Times Group. These include Femina, Filmfare, Femina Allure, JLT (Just Like That), IAGT (It�s A Guy Thing), Kidzone, Strategic Marketing and Shipping Journal, among others. "The Times Group entered into this JV with BBC Worldwide to strategically add value to the business," says Devashish Sarkar, chief executive officer, Worldwide Media. BBC Worldwide is the third largest magazine publisher in the UK and has a portfolio of 50 regular titles, the topmost among which are Top Gear and Radio Times. ... more