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

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”.

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:

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