The Net
Rivals Haymarket and Future Publishing have thrashed out a deal to swap masthead rights and subscription lists from two of their failed magazines.
Under the deal, Future’s .net magazine will get the rights to Haymarket’s The Net, which closed three weeks ago In exchange, Haymarket will receive the same rights from Future’s Total Football, which closed this week, for its market leader, FourFourTwo.
The deal gives the Future title a boost in a market facing tough times. The Net was the biggest title in the sector while its nearest rival second biggest, Business 2.0, also closed earlier this year, as did The Industry Standard and a number of smaller titles.
Dave Taylor, .net publisher, said: "The closure of The Net follows smaller internet-related magazine closures earlier this year and shows that the market is not as easy to break into as other publishers had believed. The next few issues of .net will include a signpost to readers that it now ‘incorporates The Net’, allowing us to maximise the potential news-stand gains. We anticipate good financial results from this deal."
Haymarket consumer publications managing director Kevin Costello said: "This deal makes perfect sense. It allows us to recoup the value of our equity in The Net, while gaining important ground in the football sector."
lThe Sunday Times is folding its internet section Doors into the main paper and Centaur’s New Media Creative is being folded into sister publication New Media Age.
Total Football closes, page 7
Mary Stevens
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