Fox Sports "will wade into the crowded sports-magazine
waters" in a joint venture with Petersen Publishing Co.,
according to Jensen & Kerwin of AD AGE. Fox and Petersen
will produce the "Fox Sports NFL '98 Preview" insert, which
"could be the first step toward developing a sports magazine
to go up against" SI and ESPN. The football preview insert
will be distributed through seven Petersen titles, including
Four Wheel & Off Road, Hot Rod, Motor Trend, Motorcyclist,
Mountain Biker, Petersen's Sport Truck and Sport. Total
circulation will be about 4 million. The insert will have
36 pages, includes "at least" 10 ad pages. Fox Sports
Senior VP/Marketing Neal Tiles said that the venture is
being viewed as "a promotional platform for Fox Sports," and
is "a way to think about a strategic partnership" with
Petersen. Tiles: "We are testing the waters." Jensen &
Kerwin add that "most likely, the joint venture next will
create similar preview publications tied to the network's
other sports properties, specifically" baseball and hockey.
The NFL content will feature Fox personalities such as Howie
Long and John Madden (AD AGE, 4/27 issue).
