Playboy will no longer be stocking the shelves with physical copies, opting to go for a digital-first publishing schedule.
The end of an era is officially upon us. When Hugh Hefner died three years ago, it was clear that the make-up of Playboy would change quickly. The company has been dealt its hand with the coronavirus outbreak, unable to distribute the latest copy in physical form so drastic measures were taken at the Mansion and it was decided that, moving forward, Playboy would operate primarily in the digital realm.
In an open letter to their loyal following, Playboy Enterprises CEO Ben Kohn laid out their plans for the future, explaining that print will no longer be a priority for them.
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"Last week, as the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic to content production and the supply chain became clearer and clearer, we were forced to accelerate a conversation we’ve been having internally: the question of how to transform our U.S. print product," wrote Kohn. "We have decided that our Spring 2020 Issue, which arrives on U.S. newsstands and as a digital download this week, will be our final printed publication for the year in the U.S."
There will be special printed editions of the magazine coming in 2021, but Playboy will no longer be just a magazine. What do you think of this shift? Was anybody still buying the magazines in the first place?