Barry Diller’s IAC/Interactive Corp is ending print editions of Entertainment Weekly, InStyle and four other titles it acquired from Meredith Corporation last year, turning them into digital-only properties.
The New York-based digital media company told employees that EW, InStyle, EatingWell, Health, Parents and People en Español will only be available online starting in April.
“We said from the start that buying Meredith was about buying brands, not magazines or websites,” Dotdash Meredith CEO Neil Vogel wrote in a memo to employees obtained by the Los Angeles Times. . “It is no news to anyone that there has been a pronounced shift in readership and advertising from print to digital, and as a result, for a few major brands, print no longer serves the purpose. principal of the brand.”
The move, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, reflects declining print circulation and revenue as audiences continue to turn to digital devices for their content. The consumer shift to digital has accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The shutdown does not come until months later IAC acquired Meredith’s titles for $1.8 billion in October. The deal closed in December.
Vogel said the company has always intended to unlock the digital potential of titles, adding, “we’re moving to a digital-only future for these brands, which will help us unlock their full potential.”
Dotdash Meredith will continue to publish print editions of 19 other titles, including People, Better Homes & Gardens and Southern Living.
“Opponents will interpret this as another nail in the coffin of print,” Vogel wrote. “They couldn’t be more wrong – the print stays at Dotdash Meredith’s heart.”
Vogel may disagree on this point with the 200 employees who are expected to lose their jobs as part of the move.
Parents had the longest duration among the suppressed print titles, first founded in 1926 as a guide for child rearing.
Entertainment Weekly has been a pop culture staple since it was launched by Time Inc. in 1990. The magazine’s covers have long been coveted on the newsstands of studios and networks featuring their new movies and TV shows.
“It wasn’t too long ago that you walked into a newsstand and were faced with hundreds of covers,” said Cable Neuhaus, former editor and Los Angeles bureau chief for Entertainment Weekly. “The best stood out – especially if you had the right star on the cover at the right time. A week early or late would make all the difference. Hollywood figured that out, so they would, for the most part, try to cooperate with EW on the timing. When stunning imagery and strong cover lines came together at the perfect moment – bang – everyone was thrilled. The studio, the star and the readers.
Neuhaus is skeptical that a digital version of EW will have the same impact.
“It’s too fleeting,” he said. “For example, who has ever turned an Internet homepage into a poster? But it happened regularly with iconic magazine covers.
InStyle, which focuses on celebrity style and fashion tips, has been in print since 1994.
Health is a lifestyle title aimed at women, launched by Meredith in 1981. People en Español debuted in 1996 as a Spanish-language version of the flagship celebrity title People.
Josh Rottenberg contributed to this report.