In a sudden change at TV Guide, new owner Open Gate Capital has replaced Scott Crystal as president, and tapped Michael Clayton, the company’s executive vice president, as his interim successor.
News of Crystal’s departure came in a three-paragraph announcement distributed to TV Guide employees over the weekend by Open Gate Managing Director Andrew Nikou.
According to Nikou’s note — a copy of which was obtained by The Post: “A new successor will be named in the near future.”
Crystal’s departure comes just months after Open Gate bought the storied weekly late last year from Macrovision.
Last week, TV Guide instituted an eight-day, summer furlough for all employees.
The summer months are typically the slowest in terms of TV news, due to reruns, and advertising volume is generally light.
On top of that, the company has also imposed pay cuts.
As head of the one-time TV listings bible, Crystal directed a wholesale revamp in 2005 that slashed the guaranteed circulation from 9 million to 3.2 million, and changed the look: from a pocketbook-size newsprint publication to a large magazine with feature stories and fewer listings.
Crystal sought to boost ad revenues in the more traditional magazine — and said at the time that the new format allowed the company to raise rates two to three times.
But the change did not stop the flow of red ink. From 2006 to 2007, when it was still part of publicly traded Gemstar TV Guide International, the magazine lost more than $60 million. It is believed to have lost close to $20 million in 2008.
However, people familiar with the matter noted that under Open Gate’s ownership, TV Guide has improved its financial results.
This year, its ad-page count has followed the trend of most magazines, falling sharply due to a recession-induced pullback by advertisers. TV Guide’s ad pages through the May 25 issue were off about 30 percent to 407.5, compared with the same period a year earlier.