Bauer is to close Women's Fitness, the company has confirmed after speculation earler this week that the future of the health title was uncertain.
A statement released this morning by the publisher said: “Bauer Media today confirmed the company’s intention to cease publication of Women’s Fitness magazine, with the last issue being the November cover date, on sale 9 October, 2014.”
Bauer cites a having to pay a licensing fee out of the UK for the title, reduced advertising spend and increasing costs for making the title commercially unviable.
Matthew Stanton, CEO of Bauer Media said: “The staff have done a great job on Women’s Fitness over the past three years and I commend their work and thank them for their dedication and effort. It is not an easy decision to close a magazine and we have certainly considered all the options before coming to this conclusion."
At this point the magazine publisher has no plans to launch another health focused title, however with the launch of Bauer's online women’s network imminent, producing health focused content will remain a focus for the media company.
“Health and fitness are important pillars across our Bauer Media magazine brands and we will continue to produce excellent content in this space for relevant titles, as well as our current digital assets and new multi-platform initiatives to be rolled out in the near future,” Stanton said.
The title is being axed despite being one of Bauer's most successful in terms of circulation, with the magazine experiencing 10.9% YOY growth in print according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) data.
It is unclear how many redundancies will result from the closure of the title.
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.
Need a job? Visit adnewsjobs.com.au.
Have something to say? Send us your comments using the form below or contact the writer at sarahhomewood@yaffa.com.au
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.