Steve Maich, formerly editor-in-chief and publisher of Rogers Media's Sportsnet and Sportsnet.ca, is now the company's senior vice-president and general manager of Publishing.

In his new role Maich takes over from Ken Whyte to oversee the 58 multiplatform consumer and B2B titles under the Rogers umbrella, including Chatelaine, Maclean's, Flare, Today's Parent, Hello! Canada, Sportsnet, Marketing and Canadian Grocer.


Sportsnet editor John Intini is taking over editorial leadership of Sportsnet, and Maich will act as the title's publisher until a permanent replacement is appointed.

Maich served as editor-in-chief of Sportsnet's print edition since the magazine's launch in 2011. Under his guidance, the title garnered 70,000 paid subscribers in less than 18 months according to Rogers. He took on additional duties as editor-in-chief of Sportsnet.ca in September 2013.

Maich previously worked as group publisher of the company's consumer business magazines, including Canadian Business and MoneySense, and is a past editor-in-chief of Canadian Business.

"I am truly honoured to have this opportunity to lead Canada's best collection of publishing brands into the next phase of their lives," said Maich in a release. "These are challenging times in the publishing business, but also incredibly exciting times…we've never had more tools at our fingertips to reach our audiences, across multiple platforms, anytime and anywhere they want."

The appointment follows other recent changes at Rogers Media, including yesterday's cutting of nearly 100 jobs. In September, it was revealed that former Rogers Publishing president Ken Whyte was transitioning to a role as president of Rogers Media's Next Issue Canada, an all-you-can-read digital subscription service.

Joining Whyte at Next Issue were other Rogers veterans, including Brinda Luckoo, former executive director of the Consumer Marketing Group, as Next Issue's executive director. Stuart Shaul was tapped as the venture's senior director of marketing, moving over from his role as senior director of e-commerce, and former Rogers Media senior leadership team member Chris Johnston was appointed as Next Issue's director of operations and administration.

As Rogers readies for the official Dec. 15 launch of Next Issue Canada, it's clear that integrated cross-media initiatives play a major role in the company's plans. In a memo regarding the recent spate of layoffs, the media house noted its focus was on building "strong brands with compelling content that resonate with consumers across multiple platforms on any device." Maich's Sportsnet, as well as the evolving 85-year-old Chatelaine and the Shopping Channel, were mentioned as success stories.

"Steve not only possesses deep knowledge of the publishing industry and brand development expertise, he also has a strong vision for the future of publishing content within the evolving media landscape," said Keith Pelley, president of Rogers Media.