TV Guide CEO Steward Resigns

TV Guide Chief Executive David Steward, 41, resigned as News Corp. prepared to complete the sale of the television-listings magazine to United Video Satellite Group Inc. this month.

News Corp. said Steward’s departure was a mutual decision and the parting was amicable. TV Guide will have a new executive structure once the acquisition is complete, although no decisions have been made, said TV Guide spokeswoman Rachel Breinin.

“[Steward] likes to build brands,” Breinin said. “This deal does what he was brought on to do. His expertise wasn’t needed anymore.”

Steward joined Radnor, Pa.-based TV Guide as president and CEO in November 1997. Before joining TV Guide, he was chief operating officer and president of publishing at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia.

Tulsa, Okla.-based United Video, which is controlled by two affiliates of Tele-Communications Inc., runs an on-screen TV listing service. United Video agreed to buy TV Guide for $2 billion in cash and stock from News Corp. in June. News Corp. will get 40% of United Video and half the voting control.