Playboy adds to the tide of media red ink

3 posts / 0 new

Tue, 2009-05-12 01:17

Doug

Playboy Enterprises Inc (PLA.N), publisher of one of the world's best known adult magazines, posted on Monday a wider first-quarter loss under the weight of a depressed advertising market and slow consumer spending.

The company, which has said it would be open to discussions about an outright sale, reported a loss of $13.7 million, or 41 cents per share. This compares with a loss of $4.2 million, or 13 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Before restructuring and impairment charges, the company lost 15 cents a share for the quarter.

Blaming in part an economic slowdown that has curtailed advertising spending, the company said revenue declined to $61.6 million from $78.5 million a year before.

http://www.reuters.com/article/managementIssues/idUSN1148592320090511

When you can't even make money printing naked ladies, the future of the print media is dire.

Tue, 2009-05-12 07:00

abnormal

Playboy isn't the only adult magazine to have had troubles over the years [Penthouse being one of the better known examples] and I'm sure it won't be the last. It's tough making money selling pictures of naked women when it's so easy to find them on the web.

Of course we could ask the Feds to use some of the bailout money to help an American instution.

They've done so well on the licensed sex front in the past - anyone remember when they took over the Mustang Ranch for unpaid taxes and tried to run it (that's actually required by law). They failed and it closed.

Tue, 2009-05-12 09:14

Tommy_Paine

It would be interesting to know the status of really old magazines right now, like Scientific American, or Harper's.

I think publications and media outlets that have carved out a reputation as being "The Record" in their field may be the only ones to survive.

I haven't read a Playboy in decades. I'm not sure the pictures of naked women were ever the primary selling point. They had a certain lifestyle brand which may have been the selling feature. And, in the old days they had pretty topical interviews. I can't venture an opinion on the quality of their political articles-- not knowing enough about U.S. politics at the time I read them, but it seems to me they at least had a left of centre lean. And, they used to publish excerpts from novels that would today be considered on the more thoughtfull side of the scale.