Founded in 1982 and at times so rich with ads its issues reached as many as 600 pages, Ziff Davis's PC Magazine will issue its last print edition this January, thereafter becoming an online-only publication. Ziff Davis, which recently exited bankruptcy will lay off seven print production employees.
Gadget and PC shoppers stay online now, preferring sites such as AOL's Engadget, Gawker Media's Gizmodo or CNET to print. Ziff Davis will follow that model and PC Magazine will become PCMag, part of a network of sites called the PCMag Digital Network. The Network will also include ExtremeTech, Gearlog, Appscout, Smart Device Central, GoodCleanTech, DL.TV, Cranky Geeks, and PCMagCast.
Ziff Davis CEO Jason Young shared some numbers with PaidContent's Rafat Ali:
- PCMag revenues are "in the tens and tens of millions of dollars"
- Online reveneues grew an average of 42% since 2001.
- Digital already accounts for 70% of the PC Mag brand's revenues.
- The network is profitable.
- PCMag brand revenues grew 18% in Q3.
See Also:
Forbes Magazine, Web Site Merging Sales Staffs Now, Editorial Next Year (Memo)
