Maxim UK goes online-only as print edition axed

by Daniel Farey-Jones, Brand Republic 02-Apr-09, 11:10

LONDON - Maxim UK is ditching its print edition to go online-only after its June issue on sale on April 23.

Read Gordon's Republic blog post - Maxim goes online only who is next?

The move follows a 41.4% year-on-year drop in Maxim's circulation in the second half of 2008 to 45,951 copies.

Maxim owner Dennis Publishing has started a consultation period for all 12 editorial and commercial staff who work on the brand, including those involving in producing its digital content. Dennis claims it will bolster its online editorial team to develop more content for the Maxim.co.uk website.

James Tye, CEO, Dennis Publishing said: "The Maxim brand remains the best-selling men’s lifestyle magazine in the world, but Dennis Publishing must move with the times and recognize that the future of the brand in the UK is online.

"We are extremely proud of what Maxim UK has achieved: as a print magazine, it was at the forefront of the UK lifestyle market and as a website it will continue to inform and entertain thousands of readers every day."

Current subscribers to the print edition will be given the option of subscribing to the US edition of Maxim or to one of Dennis's other men's lifestyle titles.

The Maxim.co.uk website.currently has 500,000 unique users per month and 260,000 subscribers to its weekly email.

The online plans for Maxim will not involve any change to its current policy of giving away content for free, according to a spokeswoman. Despite some publishers, such IPC Media-owner Time Inc, saying they are considering such an option.

Dennis's agreement with Alpha Media, from which it has licensed the rights to publish Maxim UK since it sold Alpha the Maxim brand in 2007, has now changed.

It now holds digital-only rights to publish the brand in the UK and has become the sole importer of the US edition of Maxim to the UK.

Alpha itself was forced to close down its Blender monthly music magazine last Thursday, making the brand online-only and at the same time merging the Maxim US print and digital editorial teams.

In the UK the closure of Maxim's print edition follows Bauer Media axing Arena magazine last month. Shortlist boss Mike Soutar said that his free magazine "had been a contributor" to Arena going out of business.

Comments

IanC - 02/04/2009

It's a cracking quality mag, but none of this mag genre will last long in print now that little Timmy has the internet in his bedroom. Online is fast becoming the dominant place to reach young men. They don't watch very much TV (in the traditional sense) and where they do they are very dispersed (multi-channel). The days of the 'big tv spot' no longer exists for them (5% might watch the British Grand Prix), they are not getting in the habit of newspapers (16-30 men down at least 10% I suspect).