Numbers Show ESPN's "Body Issue" Exceeding Expectations

"Body Issue" Generates 400 New ESPN Insider Subscriptions

ESPN The Magazine's "Body Issue" was "bound to be a success ... from a strict buzz standpoint," and "judging from the early returns, it's exceeding the business rationale" as well, according to Dylan Stableford of THE WRAP. ESPN Publishing GM & Editorial Dir Gary Hoenig at the Magazine Innovation Summit in N.Y. on Thursday said that the issue "generated 400 new subscriptions" to the ESPN Insider service -- which has an expanded photo gallery of the athletes featured in the shoots -- for the day following its publication. But Hoenig said that it is "too early to tell" how the issue is doing on newsstands. Even if he saw an increase in sales, Hoenig said, "I'm not sure I'd believe it." He added that the magazine's "controversial $1.00 annual subscription offer to its current subscribers generated a 30[%] response rate and that they'll benefit from auto-renewals." Meanwhile, Stableford notes Hoenig "made an interesting point regarding a growing problem in editorial morale: editors and writers who are constantly bombarded with the magazine industry's scary numbers 'perceive what (they) do is worthless'" (THEWRAP.com, 10/16).