Mac Publishing was created in 1998 as a joint venture between International Data Group and Ziff-Davis, publishers of the two largest magazines focused on the Apple Macintosh at the time. Ziff-Davis's MacUser was folded into Macworld, creating a new magazine, Macworld, incorporating MacUser.

The company also took ownership of Ziff-Davis's MacWEEK, which it transformed into an online entity and a short-lived print magazine called eMediaWeekly. Later the company bought the online news site MacCentral Online, which it also rolled into its Macworld online presence.

In late 2001 the company became a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Data Group when IDG bought out Ziff-Davis's share of the company.