Hour Media

What Hour Media does

Hour Media is a privately held multimedia production company headquartered in Troy, Michigan, and is the largest publisher of city and regional magazines in the United States. Founded in 1996 with Hour Detroit as its flagship publication, the company operates a portfolio of over 100 magazine titles spanning 16 states, including Atlanta Magazine, Cincinnati Magazine, Florida Design, Minnesota Monthly, Palm Beach Illustrated, and Detroit-focused business journals such as DBusiness. The portfolio is organized under a platform-plus-services model in which each magazine brand serves as the anchor for cross-sell into adjacent services.

The company generates revenue across four primary streams: print and digital magazine advertising and subscriptions across its 100+ titles; B2B and B2C custom publishing services (custom magazines, travel guides, hotel in-room publications, annual reports, marketing collateral for hospitals, real estate developers, financial firms, automotive companies, travel organizations, and associations); events and experiences including parties, festivals, and award shows that monetize through sponsorships and tickets; and digital marketing agency services through its wholly-owned subsidiary Compass Media. Supporting wholly-owned subsidiaries include Target Distribution LLC (physical distribution), Hour City Studios (in-house video production), and Professional Research Services (industry research).

Hour Media's go-to-market is sales-led for custom publishing and event sponsorships, with field sales teams managing enterprise relationships, while the magazine portfolio drives consumer subscriptions and advertising revenue complemented by digital properties and events. Pricing for custom publishing is quote-based on multi-year contracts; subscription and advertising pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company most recently expanded through three April 2026 acquisitions from SagaCity Media's bankruptcy proceedings — Houstonia, Portland Monthly, and five other titles including Seattle Met — entering Texas, Oregon, and Washington.

Name

Hour Media

Legal name

Hour Media Group

Website

https://hourmedia.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Hour Media is the largest publisher of city and regional magazines in the United States, operating 100+ titles across 16 states from its Troy, Michigan headquarters. It provides custom publishing, digital marketing, events, distribution, and video production services to enterprise and consumer audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Magazine Publishing

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120), Media Representatives (54184), Media Buying Agencies (541830)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts, Culture & Literary Magazines (MPAJAEAN)

akta.pro secondary industry

Business, Finance & Industry Trade Magazines (MPAJAEAM)

Keywords

• Regional magazine publishing
• Custom publishing services
• City lifestyle media
• Digital marketing agency
• Multimedia content production

Headquarters

HQ city

Troy

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices16 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Magazine Publishing & Advertising: Revenue from print and digital magazine subscriptions, advertising sales across 100+ city and regional magazine titles spanning multiple states
2. Custom Publishing Services: B2B and B2C custom media production including custom magazines, annual reports, travel guides, hotel in-room magazines, marketing collateral for businesses and organizations across the country
3. Events & Experiences: Hosting events, parties, festivals, and award shows that complement magazine brands and drive revenue through sponsorships and ticket sales
4. Digital Agency Services: Full-service digital marketing agency (Compass Media) providing digital marketing services to clients

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hour Media is a multimedia publishing company that operates a portfolio of over 100 city and regional magazine titles across multiple U.S. states. It sells consumer subscriptions and advertising through its owned magazine brands, and delivers B2B custom publishing services producing digital content, custom magazines, travel guides, hotel in-room magazines, annual reports, and marketing collateral for enterprise clients. Supporting services include Compass Media (digital marketing), Target Distribution (physical distribution), Professional Research Services (industry research), and Hour City Studios (video content).

Product overview

Hour Media is a multimedia publishing company and the largest publisher of city and regional magazines in the United States. The company operates a portfolio of over 40 magazine titles spanning multiple U.S. states (Michigan, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, Colorado, Alabama), organized under a platform-plus-services model. Core products include flagship publications like Hour Detroit and regionally-acquired brands such as Atlanta Magazine, Cincinnati Magazine, and Florida Design. Supporting services include Custom Publishing (custom media creation for B2B/B2C clients), Compass Media (digital marketing agency), Target Distribution (distribution services), Professional Research Services (industry research), and Hour City Studios (video content). Recent acquisitions from SagaCity Media in April 2026 added Portland Monthly, Houstonia, and Seattle Met to the portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Hour City Studios: In-house video content studio producing multimedia content for brands
• Compass Media
• Hour Media Custom Publishing

Products and services

• Hour Detroit Flagship city magazine of Hour Media covering metropolitan Detroit lifestyle, dining, entertainment, culture, and local journalism.
• Atlanta Magazine Premier city magazine serving the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area, covering local news, dining, culture, and lifestyle.
• Cincinnati Magazine Premier city magazine serving Cincinnati, Ohio covering local news, dining, culture, and lifestyle.
• Minnesota Monthly Leading city and regional magazine serving Minnesota covering local culture, dining, events, and travel.
• Palm Beach Illustrated Upscale lifestyle publication serving Palm Beach County covering luxury, culture, and society.
• Naples Illustrated Luxury lifestyle magazine serving Naples, Florida covering affluent community, real estate, dining, and culture.
• Florida Design Magazine Premium design and interior architecture publication serving Florida.
• Indianapolis Monthly Leading city magazine serving Indianapolis, Indiana covering local lifestyle, dining, events, and culture.
• DBusiness High-end business journal covering Detroit and Michigan business news, executives, and industries.
• Seattle Met Premier city magazine serving Seattle, Washington, acquired from SagaCity Media in April 2026.
• Houstonia City magazine serving Houston, Texas, acquired from SagaCity Media in April 2026.
• Portland Monthly Regional magazine serving Portland, Oregon, acquired from SagaCity Media in April 2026.
• Custom Publishing Services Full-service custom media team producing digital content, custom magazines, association publications, travel guides, hotel in-room magazines, annual reports, and marketing collateral for B2B and B2C enterprise clients.
• Compass Media (Digital Marketing Agency) Full-service digital marketing agency providing digital marketing services including content marketing, social media, and online campaigns for clients.
• Target Distribution In-house physical distribution services for magazine publications across multiple states.
• Professional Research Services Industry research arm providing research services to support content and custom publishing clients.
• Hour City Studios In-house video content studio producing multimedia video content across platforms for Hour Media brands and clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• Largest city and regional magazine publisher in the United States

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Hearst Magazines: One of the largest U.S. magazine publishers (Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Car and Driver) with similar print-advertising, digital, and events revenue mix at much greater scale.
• Emmis Communications: Indianapolis-based regional media company historically operating city magazines (e.g., Indianapolis Monthly) and radio. Operates in the same city-magazine niche with broader media holdings.
• Condé Nast: Major national magazine publisher (Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Wired) with overlapping advertising-driven print and digital model. Does not specialize in regional city titles but competes for the same luxury advertiser dollars.
• Dotdash Meredith: Major magazine and digital media operator (People, Better Homes & Gardens, Investopedia, Verywell) with parallel print-to-digital transition, custom content, and performance-marketing services competing for the same advertiser budgets.
• Crain Communications: Family-owned regional B2B media company (Crain's Detroit, Crain's Chicago, Ad Age, Autoweek) with overlapping custom publishing, events, and digital agency revenue streams — broader B2B focus but comparable in regional media operations.

Direct peers

• Los Angeles Magazine: Affluent-market city magazine with regional lifestyle, dining, and culture coverage. Closely comparable in target advertiser profile (luxury, entertainment, real estate) and audience demographic.
• Boston Magazine: Independent city magazine covering Boston with comparable city-lifestyle editorial, custom publishing, and event revenue streams. Direct format competitor.
• Philadelphia Magazine (Metrocorp): Independent regional city magazine serving Philadelphia with a similar mix of editorial content, custom publishing, and events — a structurally comparable city-magazine operator at smaller scale.
• American City Business Journals: Operates 40+ city business journals across the U.S., closely comparable to Hour Media's regional-city magazine model with a mix of B2B advertising, events, and digital subscriptions. Largest direct competitor by scale and footprint.
• SagaCity Media: Direct peer — operated city magazines in Seattle, Portland, and Houston that competed head-to-head with Hour Media's regional titles until its 2026 bankruptcy and acquisition by Hour Media. Same business model, same customer segments (local advertisers, custom publishing, luxury brands).

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/about

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A2 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hour Media