Time Warner seeking buyers for its magazines: report

Time Warner Inc is seeking to sell its publishing unit Time Inc and has met with at least one serious buyer, Fortune magazine said, citing unnamed sources.

A meeting with a potential buyer is scheduled for today, the report said, adding that talks are still in formative stages.

A Time Warner spokesman said the company does not comment on speculation.

Time Inc is the publisher of magazine titles like People, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and its namesake newsweekly.

In one possible outcome, the buyer would get most of Time Inc's titles while Time Warner would retain three magazines: Time, Sports Illustrated and Fortune, the report said.

Magazines and newspapers are dealing with declining advertising revenue and readers who are increasingly choosing digital products over print.

In 2012, revenue at Time Inc dropped 7 percent to $3.4 billion on declines in advertising and subscription revenue. Operating income fell 25 percent for the same period.

Time Inc announced in January it planned to cut about 500 jobs, or about 6 percent of its workforce.

(Reporting By Jennifer Saba in New York; Editing by Gerald E. McCormick)