View all newsletters
Sign up for our free email newsletters

Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

  1. News
June 23, 2020updated 30 Sep 2022 9:25am

Bauer to close magazine titles ‘unlikely to be sustainable’ after Covid-19

By Charlotte Tobitt

Magazine publisher Bauer is closing a number of titles as part of a review to “protect the long-term health” the business.

Music title Planet Rock, “true-life” magazine Simply You, and Practical Photography will all publish their final issues in July.

The publisher said these magazines were deemed “unlikely to be sustainable” after the Covid-19 crisis.

Simply You was launched by the teams behind Bauer’s Take a Break and That’s Life magazines in 2018 to target women over 40.

Planet Rock was launched a year earlier by the teams behind Bauer’s Mojo magazine and Planet Rock radio station. Practical Photography was established in 1959.

Bauer is also closing the print and digital editions of Mother and Baby to focus instead on the brand’s online presence and flagship awards event, which is in its 27th year.

Bauer said this change would “accelerate the growth it’s seen and reach more people than ever before in the format they want to use”.

Content from our partners
Free journalism awards for journalists under 30: Deadline today
MHP Group's 30 To Watch awards for young journalists open for entries
How PA Media is helping newspapers make the digital transition

Golf World will also be lost as a standalone brand after more than 40 years as it merges with Today’s Golfer magazine.

A Bauer spokesperson said it plans to redeploy employees affected by the changes elsewhere within the company “wherever possible”.

Five other magazines are currently in the advanced stages of sale negotiations with potential new buyers: music magazine Q, Car Mechanics, Modern Classics, Your Horse and Sea Angler.

The publisher said it is “hopeful of a timely conclusion to these confidential discussions, in order to give clarity to teams and readers as to the future of the titles”.

Bauer’s UK publishing chief executive Chris Duncan, who was appointed in April after leaving his role as Times Newspapers managing director, said: “In order to protect the long-term health of our publishing business we have had to make tough decisions about the future of some much-loved titles.

“While some magazines sadly will close, we remain hopeful that a number will continue to publish under new ownership.  We remain fully committed and positive about the strength of our remaining portfolio.”

Of the titles affected that are registered on ABC, their latest average circulations are as below:

Magazine Average circulation
Simply You 35,574 (2018)
Practical Photography 32,860
Q 28,359
Golf World 21,267
Your Horse 17,522 (2015)
Sea Angler 15,524
Mother and Baby 9,708

 

Topics in this article : ,

Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog

Select and enter your email address Weekly insight into the big strategic issues affecting the future of the news industry. Essential reading for media leaders every Thursday. Your morning brew of news about the world of news from Press Gazette and elsewhere in the media. Sent at around 10am UK time. Our weekly does of strategic insight about the future of news media aimed at US readers. A fortnightly update from the front-line of news and advertising. Aimed at marketers and those involved in the advertising industry.
  • Business owner/co-owner
  • CEO
  • COO
  • CFO
  • CTO
  • Chairperson
  • Non-Exec Director
  • Other C-Suite
  • Managing Director
  • President/Partner
  • Senior Executive/SVP or Corporate VP or equivalent
  • Director or equivalent
  • Group or Senior Manager
  • Head of Department/Function
  • Manager
  • Non-manager
  • Retired
  • Other
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
Thank you

Thanks for subscribing.

Websites in our network