TV Guide gets ABC exclusive

Network sole sponsor of Aug. 25 issue

By MIKE FLAHERTY

ABC Television will be the sole sponsor of the Aug. 25 issue of TV Guide, the mag and network announced Monday. The issue will feature 21 ad pages, all of them from the Disney-owned net.

The pact marks the most conspicuous such deal since retail giant Target sponsored an entire issue of the New Yorker in August 2005.

It’s not, however, the first time the two media properties have joined forces. Earlier this year, TV Guide distributed ABC-branded hospital gowns to N.Y. and L.A. subscribers to promote the fourth-season premiere of “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Gotham and L.A. subscribers to the single-sponsor issue, which hits newsstands Thursday, will receive a free DVD with a sneak-peek of the Alphabet’s fall slate.

“This collaboration with ABC is another example of our willingness to ‘disrupt’ the norm in terms of advertising placement and execution with the goal of being both memorable and more engaging to our readers,” said TV Guide prexy Scott Crystal.