SYDNEY: ACP's men's magazine Ralph will publish its final print edition this month, after nearly fourteen years in print, to focus on online.
The July edition of the magazine, published by ACP, will be the final issue, although Ralph's website, www.ralph.ninemsn.com.au, will continue.
ACP Magazines group publishing director Phil Scott said 13 ACP editorial and advertising staff will be affected, and transfers and redundancies are expected.
"The history of the monthly men's market is that the No. 1 masthead tends to change every six or seven years," Scott said.
"This evolution happens in many magazine genres, particularly those aimed at young males. The growth of online is a factor but if history is any guide, it is not the key issue. Tastes continually shift among younger readers.
Australian Bureau of Circulation figures saw Ralph fall 4.8% year on year, to 63,155 in the three months to December 2009.
Ralph had a readership of 267,000 per month, according to the latest Roy Morgan readership results, whereas market leader Zoo Weekly had a readership of 466,000.
ACP claims the title's strength lies in online, and ninemsn will continue to run digital executions on web and mobile.
Ninemsn chief executive Joe Pollard said: "Both platforms are delivering strong audience numbers to our network, with April data showing Ralph page view growth of 11% year on year."
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