PC Magazine Goes Out Of Print

Nicholas Carlson | November 19, 2008 7:24 AM

PCMag.jpgFounded 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)

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25 Comments

sho 'nuff said:
Not the first...won't be the last mag to throw in the towel and go all digital.
Bye bye MAG... you won't be missed :)

Mike
http://www.wannadevelop.com
curious dude said:
What happens to people that paid for subscriptions? Will the online version have extra content for paid subscriptions? Or will consumers get their money back (albeit it was a mere 14 bucks a year), but still curious.

Thanks if anyone knows.
Rich said:
But... but where will I get thousands of mind-cluttering ads?!??

Oh yeah! Their website! HOORAY PC MAG!
Sarah Perez (URL) said:
Darn...I like that magazine!! What am I supposed to read on the beach now? Electronics are great, but I've yet to find any that are sand and salt-water proof. And also, after spending hundreds of dollars on a new gadget, I'm not leaving it tucked into my shoe while I go for a swim. Seriously, we still need SOME dead tree reads for those of us who spend some of our life outdoors.
DK said:
I had heard a month or so ago that Ziff had not renewed its printing contract for the mag. But have you seen the PC Mag website? It looks about 10 years out of date -- hopefully they have a major overhaul in the works.
Peter Payne (URL) said:
God, shades of high school. I remember reading Byte, back when they had Atari and other content. I love reading old issues of Analog and Antic, the Atari 8-bit mags of the day. Good times, good times!
Alfred T. said:
"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...""

Sorry, but this is either sloppy writing or sloppy research. You make it sound like PCMag.com is something new that's first launching now. It's been around for years and is quite popular, as I understand it.

The more accurate statement would be: "Gadget and PC shoppers stay online now, preferring sites such as AOL's Engadget, Gawker Media's Gizmodo, CNET, and PC Magazine's own PCMag.com to print."

Jim Capparell said:
Peter, thnx for remembering Antic - The Atari Resource, I founded that in 1982. Yes, they were good times. I'm happy to say Antic provided many people a start in hi-tech careers.
Former Reader said:
Good riddance!

The magazine started out as a useful report of the PC industry, with positive articles about all the new things being done.

Around the mid-90s, though, the editors started thinking *they* should be driving the PC industry instead of leaving it to people who actually know something. The articles turned negative -- "they should have done this" -- and the magazine went downhill fast after that. Readership dropped like a paralyzed falcon and the advertisers bolted.

Last time I picked up an issue it was 80 pages of nothing, so this announcement isn't much of a change.
Alice Hill said:
I wrote about this 9 years ago to the day when I was at CNET. They never re-tooled. Amazed they all lasted as long as they did. I used to treat a new issue like crack.

Check my post on realtechnews
Jim said:

Call me old-fashion but I still prefer the magazine in my hand so I may read whatever articles I want and as many times as I want.

Besides, my paper subscription doesn't come with Trojans and other nasty characters.

As to the other item......Do I get my money back for the year I am paid up to??????

Amazing how when I signed up earlier to renew my subscription for 2 years, no one mentioned that they would be "dumping" the print edition.

They got my money and I will never see it back. I will move on to another print magazine and if that goes digital, will simply keep moving until I guess they think none of us can read print edtions of magazines again.

Royal said:
Thank you, PC Magazine, for helping create and nuture a tech revolution that changed the world. You will be missed.
ZSVL said:
Don't worry, subscribers. PC Magazine is not being discontinued. Beginning with the February 2009 issue, PC Magazine will become a 100-percent digital publication. Current subscriptions will continue to be fulfilled with the digital edition (which is powered by Zinio.com)

The digital version of PC Magazine will look exactly like the PC Magazine you're already familiar with. It's got a the same cover, the same articles, and "The Best Stuff" is still the last page that you will "flip" to. It's even got an interactive table of contents. It's searchable, printable, Green, and portable.

Instead of arriving at your door, it arrives in your email. You can choose to read it offline or online with just 1 click. In the future, it will even have rich media so you can see videos and slideshows.

You're going to love it. If you're not yet a subscriber, you can even find a free trial edition of PC Magazine Digital Edition at this link: http://www.zinio.com/pcmagtrial.

For current subscribers, if PC Magazine already has your email address, you don't have to do a thing. The digital edition will begin arriving in your email inbox. If PC Magazine doesn't have your e-mail address, please visit their customer service Web site (http://go.pcmag.com/subscriberservices) and follow the instructions.
Kinotavr (URL) said:
да ну нафиг
grambuolis (URL) said:
Good-bye
CHuck said:
Zinio?!? Bleah. I *really* dislike Zinio. Slow, tedious, and annoying.

I really want paper, so I can lay in bed and read, or sit on my deck, or at lunch, or in the millions of other places people read without having a computer in front of them.

Oh, well. There's still PC World, for now.
Michael Wilkes (URL) said:
I guess I'm not shocked, given the tidal wave toward online information consumption, but I *am* disappointed.

This is one of the few magazines that I have consistently read cover to cover for many years. When I want to read about my industry but DO NOT want to be stuck at my PC any longer, I retreat to the couch and curl up around my good ol' PD Mag.

Sad to see my familiar friend retired from print. Online vehicles are just not the same. Have you ever tried reading a web site "cover to cover?" Not even possible. Especially if you are ADD like me!
Brendon said:
Kinda sad: I was a fact checker there in the early '90s, but it was inevitable...I remember when it was as thick as a small town's phone book (300+ pages) due to an over-abundance of ads.
pcmagluvr (URL) said:
PC Mag has been sending me a free copy for two years now, for no good reason I could ever discover. Every year they sent me a "Your subscription is expiring" notice, I did nothing, and it was automagically renewed. So I guess they finally figured they were losing money on the postage.

Byte was a far superior magazine.
todd loren sinclair (URL) said:
Beside the fact that I've seen leaflets thicker than the recent pc magazines ... it needed to be digital only anyway just for the time factor.

Things change too fast in technology ... by the time you get a weekly or monthly magazine in the mail its already old news.

Now if we could get get them to stop acting silly on their podcast and do some serious reporting we'd be in business.
Steve H said:
Their web site still sells subscriptions for multiple years with no indication that it is going out of print. Talk about bait and switch!
Peter C said:
Great. I subscribed to it and get the print version. Give me my money back. You cannot just change to digital like that without offering an alternative.
Ridiculous....

Peter

Jim G said:
curious dude, you were asking about subscribers well they post an e-mail address to contact to cancel and get a refund. It is pure BS, they then reply that you need to call a non-800 number to do the cancellation, no telling how long you will be on hold running a phone bill that will exceed any refund you had due.
Bfuddled said:
I've never cared for the PCMag website's cluttered appearance. That's what I'm PAYING for in subscription fees... a PRINT magazine that I can peruse at my leisure. The website somewhat annoys me. And how about those using dial-up connections? How about our soldiers abroad. How is this an improvement in service? Cutting corners like this will surely lead to many subscribers jumping ship. As a subscriber myself, I'll give it a shot (like I have a choice) but I'm not presently very optimistic about this changeover.

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