By any stretch the sale of The Spectator is a coup for its RedBird IMI owners. The world’s oldest weekly magazine has attracted a price tag of more than £100 million ($130 million) or a multiple of more than 30 times its 2022 earnings, making it one of the most expensive UK media deals.
At first sight it seems like madness, but the sale was astutely handled, deliberately held in no hurry and designed to draw out bidders. The title was kept separate from its Telegraph sister. Expectations have not been set for newspapers to command quite the same premium.
In the end, only Sir Paul Marshall, funder of GB News, the UK TV station and the likely front-runner for The Telegraph, was left standing. But it’s a tribute to the competition that he saw off concerted interest from Rupert Murdoch, no less, and other bidders.
It may seem crazy that a "legacy" publication should enjoy such appeal but, for a start, the clue is in its vintage. The Spectator is a survivor. It’s continued when other print titles, in the face of the digital onslaught, have perished.
Brilliant, iconoclastic editing, a refusal to be cowed, an insistence on being different, all delivered with panache and humour, have created a much-cherished institution.
It may be right wing and that might not be to everyone’s tastes, but there is always that feeling of life not being taken too seriously, from sophisticated, eclectic content produced by journalists able to laugh at themselves and the world.
Contrast that with the often dreary, joyless, predictable offerings from the left and you can see why in recent years The Spectator has not only seen its circulation stabilise but soar.
In Britain, only Private Eye comes close, while in the US, The New Yorker has the similar ability to supply the unexpected.
There is, though, much more to the weekly missive, with its smattering of cartoons and pen drawings (at a time when they’re disappearing elsewhere) and traditional preference for words over pictures.
Spectator TV is in its infancy but taking off, as are the podcasts. Both rely on contributions from the magazine’s familiar names. Wine, cookery courses, holiday packages – these have all begun to be sold under The Spectator brand. Special, advertising-driven supplements extol the virtues of luxury watches or independent schools. The potential for a greater buffet is obvious.
That capacity extends to the internet. The Spectator may be produced using ink and paper, and distributed by old-fashioned post but its readers are, by now, tech savvy. They weren’t when digital first landed but they’ve grown to use and appreciate what tech can provide.
There will still be room for the main magazine but the online capacity exists for all manner of spin-offs, all under that historic banner.
Its success had made it a trophy asset, hence that eyebrow-raising price. The Spectator is here to stay and in today’s media landscape that makes it rare indeed.
