Once the jewel in media mogul Walter Annenberg's crown, TV Guide has suffered through years of declining circulation and, more significantly, an identity crisis in the age of electronic program guides, DVRs and iTunes downloads.

Last week, Macrovision, a tech firm that specializes in encryption and copyright protection measures for DVDs, software and consumer electronics, completed its $2.3 billion takeover of TV Guide parent Gemstar-TV Guide Intl.

And the new owners say they intend to hang a "for sale" sign on TV Guide's weekly print edition, which shed its traditional digest look and most of its listings in late 2005. It also plans to search for "strategic alternatives" for the TV Guide Network and horse-racing cabler TVG.

In short, Macrovision bought the company simply to use the iconic TV Guide brand on TV-oriented tech products.

The sale process for the print mag in particular is sure to be an uphill climb amid a challenging economic climate for print media. According to Gemstar's annual report for 2007, TV Guide lost about $20 million last year, coming off a loss of $44 million in 2006 (much of that owing to the cost of reinventing the mag). TV Guide's paid subscription base has plunged from a peak of 19.8 million in 1974 to 3.3 million.

Changes at the mag began last week with the departures of some staffers and editor Ian Birch, who had presided as "chief content officer" over the company's efforts to integrate its print, cable and online ops. Mag is expected to name Debra Birnbaum, former editor of Life & Style and TV Guide's short-lived spinoff mag Inside TV, as Birch's replacement.

TV Guide Network, meanwhile, has a solid subscriber base of 83 million homes, which would seem to make it an attractive target for one of the major congloms. According to Gemstar's 10-K, however, the carriage deals with major operators are pretty low-end, making the cabler more dependent on ad sales for its revenues (which hit about $129 million last year) than most basic cable outlets.

Moreover, the net's deals allow operators to shift the channels to digital tiers, which over time could significantly reduce its subs base and dent ad sales.

That's a tough sale in any market.