Audio Video News

Last week, Primedia announced the next in a series of editorial upgrades to its Home Technology & Photography specialty group. The group is redesigning its Stereophile Guide to Home Theater magazine to become Stereophile Ultimate AV (new URL: www.ultimateavmag.com) starting with the June issue. Hitting newsstands May 11, the redesigned magazine will feature 16 pages of new and expanded editorial content for high-end audio/video enthusiasts, more advertisers, and an enhanced consumer-friendly design.

The upgrade to Stereophile Ultimate AV comes on the heels of recent Primedia investments in the home technology market to further expand and improve editorial products and events, including the recent launch of Best, a shopping magazine focused on upscale products and lifestyles, and of Connected Guide to the Digital Home, the first consumer magazine dedicated to the lifestyle benefits of integrating home technologies, as well as the expansion of the group's Home Entertainment Show, which, for the first time ever, will take place in both New York and San Francisco in 2004. With more than 15,000 attendees expected at each show, the events are guaranteed to be, by far, the largest and most comprehensive consumer expos featuring home entertainment products and technologies. Primedia's portfolio in this area represents the largest network of publications and authoritative content reaching home technology and photography enthusiasts.

"The home technology market continues to grow with rapid product innovation and ever-broadening consumer acceptance. Primedia's Home Tech group is on the cutting edge of this marketplace," said Irwin Kornfeld, vice president and group publisher of Primedia's Home Technology & Photography Group. "No other publisher offers greater depth of information, level of expertise, and insight into the convergence of technology and lifestyle than our portfolio of publications and events."

Stereophile Ultimate AV will contain the same top-notch editorial content readers have come to trust and count on, maintaining the same writers and coverage of the highest end of consumer audio and video technology. Stereophile Ultimate AV will continue to provide sophisticated enthusiasts with the industry's most comprehensive and credible reviews of audio/video components, as well as exciting and informative features, interviews, and news. Along with graphic and photography upgrades, Stereophile Ultimate AV will have expanded editorial coverage through new features including:

•Shop Talk—explores the acquisition/buying process, where to shop, pricing, and who to talk to.
•Fast Forward—includes expanded review coverage with more concise content and evaluations and more featured products.
•CrossCurrents—examines media integration, offering tips about processes and products.

"Stereophile Ultimate AV will look like a completely new magazine, but it really builds on the strengths of Stereophile Guide by sharpening the product focus for both our readers and our advertisers," Kornfeld said. "We're leveraging Primedia's trusted status in the technology market to connect people with a passion for quality with an upgraded audio/video magazine at the very highest end of the consumer electronics spectrum."

Stereophile Ultimate AV editor Tom Norton added, "The new Stereophile Ultimate AV further distinguishes this magazine from its competitors and clearly identifies its position as the provider of the best information about high-end audio and video gear available."

Primedia will publish Stereophile Ultimate AV 10 times a year, with double issues in March/April and July/August. Stereophile will continue to be published 12 times a year.