That's the end of the Playboy print edition. The 66-year-old paper magazine will no longer appear in the United States. The worldwide Covid-19 epidemic has accelerated the newspaper's demise. Ben Kohn, the head of Playboy Enterprises, explains this decision in an open letter:
"?Alors that the coronavirus's disruption of content production and supply chain became increasingly evident, we had to accelerate a planned internal conversation.?»
The American magazine had been experiencing financial difficulties for several years.
Digital-only content
Playboy will therefore only exist on the internet. The number currently on newsstands in the United States will be the last one. However, the paper magazine could continue to be published in other countries, under licensing agreements.
The magazine's license for French-speaking countries was bought back in 2016 by two jet-set personalities, David Swaelens-Kane and Monika Bacardi, who already own Photos magazine.
Ben Kohn explains that the Playboy brand is now more successful than ever and reaches hundreds of millions of people every year. But he points out that the brand's goal now is to meet the public where they are, namely on the internet.
"?Nous have gained more than 4 million new Instagram subscribers and recorded over 50% growth in engagement on our social networks in the last 6 months, increased our digital video subscriptions by nearly 30% year over year and acquired a direct-to-consumer operation that serves nearly 1 million active customers each month.?»
Playboy magazine was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner. In the 1970s, at its peak, the magazine sold nearly 9.5 million copies worldwide in all editions.
