Beckett Media

Beckett Media is a privately held subsidiary of Apprise Media. Founded in 1984 by James Beckett, the company focuses on the collectible industries, especially in the area of sports collectibles.

History

Dr. James Beckett, considered to be one of the world's leading authorities on sports memorabilia cards, was a statistics professor before he decided to turn his love of sports cards into a business. He founded Beckett Media in 1984.

In January 2005, Beckett sold the company to Appraise media, which wanted to expand its niche and enthusiast media holdings, Appraise Media. On January 26, Appraise Media hired Peter A. Gudmundsson as the company CEO.

Less than four years after the Appraise Media acquisition, Beckett Media was rumored to again be for sale in May 2008, with five unspecified companies considering purchasing the company.

Products

Magazines

Beckett Media publishes four magazines covering non-sports collectible card games, such as Magic: The Gathering, and hobby/entertainment topics such as anime and manga. In 2005, the various titles had a combined circulation of 800,000 copies. In 2008, the circulation varies between 500,000 and 700,000, and the company began cutting back on its monthly publications to reduce overhead. While the plan was successful, it also earned the company flack from consumers and caused an continuing decrease in sales.

In 2003, Virtual pets site Neopets selected Beckett Media as the publisher of its new monthly Neopets: The Official Magazine. The bi-monthly magazine premiered in September 2003, and was canceled in January 2008 after 26 issues. Beckett replace the issues remaining in pre-paid subscriptions with their new bi-monthly magazine, Plushie Pals. Aimed at plushie collectors, Plushie Pals includes pricing guides for a range of plushie lines, including Neopets, Webkinz, Shining Stars, TY Beanie Babies, and Pokemon.

The company made its first foray into the video game arena in 2006, with the creation of Beckett Massive Online Gamer. The first issue was released in May 2006 and included information for players of various massively multiplayer online games (MMORGs), products related to the games, and articles on lifestyle and entertainment topics.

Beckett Media publishes numerous price guides and other books related to collectibles and distributes sports memorabilia. In 2008, it converted its four monthly price guides for football, baseball, hockey, and basketball cards, into seasonal titles. Becket Sports Card Monthly became its only monthly sports related magazine with its premiere in April 2008.

Sports card grading

Beckett Media runs a sports card grading service, Beckett Grading Services, which is the exclusive grader and authenticator of Topps Vault trading cards.

Fanspot.com

In November 2005, the company began working to create a social networking website for casual sports fans. In April 2006, they launched the resulting site, FanSpot.com, at the 2006 National Sports Collectors Convention. By the end of the month, the site had 1800 registered users.

Criticism

Since 2001, the circulation of the company's monthly publications showed steady decline. In 2008, Beckett began restructuring its titles, convertting its four monthly sports specific pricing guides to seasonal titles, and replacing them with a single monthly title. This angered some collectors, resulting in a further decrease in sales. Others in the industry also questioned Beckett's choice, feeling they company should have raised the magazine prices rather than drop titles.

References

External links