Dotdash bought the magazines in October as part of its $2.7 billion deal for Meredith Corp, bringing titles like People, Allrecipes and Investopedia under one roof.
Dotdash Meredith, owned by media mogul Barry Diller IAC, has decided to stop publishing the print editions of six US magazines, including Entertainment Weekly and InStyle, as part of a digital push.
The move would result in the loss of 200 jobs and affected titles also include EatingWell, Health, Parents and People en Español, Dotdash Meredith chief executive Neil Vogel said in a memo to staff seen by the agency on Wednesday. Reuters press release.
The job losses represent less than 5% of the company’s workforce and the April issues of the six magazines would be their last print editions, the company said.
Dotdash had acquired the magazines in October as part of its $2.7 billion deal for Meredith Corp, bringing titles such as People, Allrecipes and Investopedia under one roof.
“Buying Meredith was about buying brands, not magazines or websites,” Vogel said in the memo. “We are very serious about investing for growth – in 2022 alone, we will be investing over $80 million in content across our brands.”
Newspaper and magazine publishers have come under pressure in recent years due to a drop in print advertising revenue, while tech giants like Google and Facebook have pocketed most advertising dollars in the digital space.
The COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the industry’s woes by accelerating the shift to online news platforms, which has halted newsstand sales.
Dotdash – IAC’s digital media arm – reaches approximately 100 million online consumers each month and its collection of 14 media brands in health, finance and lifestyle are among the media brands in fastest growing line.