Taking Over the AIRWAVES

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, June 1, 2003 by Karen Jenkins Holt

Byline: Karen Jenkins Holt

At 131 years old, the venerable Popular Science has developed ambitions worthy of a mad scientist in a late-night movie. It wants to take over the world - the world of science-related pop culture, at least. "We don't want to be a slice of the pie," says publishing director Denise Anderman. "We want to be the pie."

The main course in this brand-building binge is a half-hour TV show, "Popular Science Adventures," expected to debut next year. Anderman is still working on a distribution agreement and will not specify where the show will air, except to say it'll be available nationally. "For us, it's a very important part of developing scale for the magazine," Anderman says. "We're the largest science magazine, and this television show builds scale for being the science and technology brand."

The 1,450,000-circ title is neither the first science magazine to make a bid for the small screen nor is it the only contender hoping to use TV to expand and exploit its brand. Upstart Seed plans to make its move to TV by the end of this year or early next year. And at Discover, the 23-year-old monthly that used to license its name to the Discovery Channel, editors are plotting a TV comeback.

"We have several ideas that we think might work for PBS, and we are also going to take another shot at the Discovery Channel," says Discover's editor-in-chief, Stephen Petranek. Seed editor-in-chief Adam Bly, a 22-year-old Canadian, won't reveal whom he's working with, but says he's attempting to form a TV partnership that will increase circ and awareness of his title, which launched last December.

With its PBS series, "Scientific American Frontiers," Scientific American has them all beat by more than 13 years. Whereas the magazine targets adults, the hour-long PBS segments attract a family audience, exposing younger readers to the magazine's name. "The more aware someone is of the brand and the product, the more logical it is to assume that they're going to become a subscriber," says Diane McGarvey, director of ancillary products for SA.

Production company Chedd-Angier develops the "Frontiers" segments with little direct involvement from the magazine. The arrangement works, both sides say, because they share an understanding of the tone and standards of the brand.

But such harmony can be elusive. Sometimes it's just not worth the effort, believes Laura Civiello, director of program development for TechTV. "Partnering with a magazine is a big endeavor because it really revolves around brand issues," she says. "Both parties have to sit back and say, 'Why are we doing this?'"

Petranek knows from his experience with the Discovery Channel how a brand can get lost in translation. "What I saw on TV was different culturally and spiritually from what we had in the magazine," he says. That changed after the mag took a hands-on role. The licensing agreement wasn't renewed, though it was for economic, not creative, reasons .

Popular Science's on-screen incarnation will be "an exciting, adrenaline-filled, take-you-there, action-packed show," promises Anderman. The magazine and the show will be cross-promoted and bundled for ad opportunities. It's all part of the plan to dominate the science world, a scheme that has Anderman working on licensing deals and thinking about radio. "I envision Popular Science being part of a person's life almost every day,"she says.