Meredith Corporation history

The magazine grew quickly, from a starting circulation of 500 to more than half a million subscribers by 1914.

In 1922 the company purchased one magazine, Dairy Farmer, and launched another, Fruit, Garden and Home.

In 1924, the magazine was retitled Better Homes and Gardens, and the first issue cost a dime on the newsstand.

Unable to make a profit until 1927, Fruit, Garden and Home, a magazine similar to Successful Farming for the home and family, had start-up difficulties as well.

By the time of E. T. Meredith's death in 1928, the year he was considered a candidate for the presidency, Better Homes and Gardens and Successful Farming had reached a combined circulation of 2.5 million.

To raise the capital necessary to diversify its interests, the company began offering stock to the public in 1946.

By 1965, the company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

By 1969, the company had formed a printing partnership with the Burda family of West Germany, which would grow into one of the largest printing businesses in the United States.

The building went through some expansion as well, including an $18 million renovation completed in 1980.

By 1985, the business challenged established realtors like Century 21 and Coldwell Banker, according to Advertising Age.

Better Homes and Gardens led the shelter magazine industry in ad revenues and pages in 1988, offering its advertisers an audience four times the size of its next competitor, according to Marketing and Media Decisions.

To soften the blow of a nationwide advertising slump it felt in its magazines and television stations, Meredith sold its 50 percent interest in the Meredith/Burda printing partnership to R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company of Chicago in 1990.

In 1992 Meredith had a net loss of $6.3 million.

The company launched an advertising campaign for its magazine group in 1993, which asserted, "If it has to do with home and family, it has to be in Meredith." The campaign featured black-and-white pictures of real families having fun together.

The real estate business had grown to include about 700 firms, which owned and operated about 1,300 offices and had 24,000 sales associates by 1994.

The company had 40 such books by 1995 and printed a total of 35 million copies.

By 1996, the company had seven stations, and these contributed more than 40 percent of the firm's profit.

In 1997 the company purchased three more television stations, picking them up for $435 million from First Media Television.

In late 1998 Meredith negotiated to buy its first station in a top ten market, Atlanta's WGNX. Not only was Atlanta a major market, but it was one of the country's fastest growing TV markets.

In March 2012, Meredith acquired allrecipes.com from Reader's Digest Association for $175 million.

In October 2014, Meredith announced a 10-year licensing agreement with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia to acquire the rights to Martha Stewart Living, Martha Stewart Weddings and marthastewart.com.

On November 26, 2017, it was announced that Meredith Corporation would acquire Time Inc. in a $2.8 billion deal. $640 million in backing was provided by Koch Equity Development, but the Koch family would not have a board seat or otherwise influence the company's operations.

On January 9, 2018, it was announced that Meredith would launch a Hungry Girl magazine on January 16, expanding from the online brand.

After failing to find a buyer for Money, Meredith in April 2019 announced that it would cease the magazine's print publication as of July 2019, but would invest in the brand's digital component Money.com.