ESPN is ending the print version of ESPN the Magazine in September, more than 21 years after its launch. The news of the print magazine’s demise was announced to staff this morning as part of a reorganization of Senior VP/Original Content Rob King’s department. ESPN says that the move will not involve any layoffs today, though it is likely that a handful of print/publishing/circulation employees -- said to be in the single digits -- will be without jobs come September. An ESPN spokesperson said the company had already integrated the magazine’s employees across its platforms. In an emailed statement, ESPN said, “Consumer habits are evolving rapidly, and this requires ESPN to evolve as well. The only change here is that we are moving away from printing it on paper and sending it in the mail. … Our data shows the vast majority of readers already consume our print journalism on digital platforms, and this approach will maximize our reach and impact.” ESPN said it will consider publishing print versions of special issues -- like the Body Issue -- in the future. The magazine launched in March ‘98. Sources said that it has lost money for the past several years. “It was not close to a break even proposition,” a source said.
TWITTER REAX: News of the magazine's demise already is garnering a lot of reaction on Twitter. Author Jim Miller wrote, "Michael Eisner loved idea of @espn mag as way of competing against Ted Turner's Sports Illustrated. Steve Bornstein wanted @espn to be everywhere; loved idea of mag being taken into bathrooms. John Skipper & John Walsh loved idea of mag. Period. Lots of MVP's in mag's history." The Athletic's Stewart Mandel: "I will always remember fondly my internship there right out of college. So many talented people. I really hope ESPN takes care of them." ESPN's Wayne Drehs: "Sad day. So many phenomenally talented people poured themselves into the Magazine." SI's Jason Schwartz: "ESPN The Magazine was the best thing to come out of Bristol. This is a shame." The Athletic's Max Bultman: "I've been getting the mag since early high school. Was easily my favorite thing to read growing up. Might be the reason I became a sportswriter." Men's Health's Evan Romano: "ESPN Magazine was the first magazine I ever had a subscription to as a kid, so pouring one out for the latest print casualty." The Washington Post's Travis Andrews: "Spin, Rolling Stone and ESPN the Magazine were the ones I subscribed to as a kid, the ones that made me want to do the job I do now. One is left."
