Playboy turns a new leaf with October digital launch

PLAYBOY will launch a digital edition of its flagship magazine with its October issue.

The digital Playboy would be identical to the print edition, the Chicago-based media and adult-entertainment company said.

“We see this as a natural extension of the Playboy brand,” chief executive Christie Hefner said.

Hefner added that giving Playboy increased distribution and worldwide access over the web would boost its advertisers’ reach.

The move will provide “additional advertising sales opportunities as we are able to meet the growing demand of companies to market online by offering ad-sponsored links”, the CEO said.

The digital edition will make its debut in the US on September 13, the same day the October issue’s print version appears on newsstands. Playboy, now in its sixth decade, has faced increasingly tough competition from the online world, where downloads of sexually-charged content are a leading source of revenue.

Print rivals such as Maxim and FHM have also been strong challengers to Playboy.

Ms Hefner, daughter of founder Hugh Hefner, is lessening the company’s dependence on print publishing and expanding to higher-growth businesses such as movies, television, merchandise and logo licensing.

’It’s literally a digital version of the magazine,’ Ms Hefner said. The internet edition is “right on our strategy” of diversifying the company’s business.

Playboy’s website, www.playboy.com, offers a limited version of the magazine.

Ms Hefner reported four years of losses from 1999 to 2002 and in 2003 reported only one quarterly profit. In four of the last six quarters Playboy has reported a profit as advertising sales rose.

Readers will have the option to purchase a subscription or a single copy of the online version.

Magazine consultant Martin Walker noted the move would save Playboy printing and paper costs. The outside company setting up the edition, Zinio Systems, is the leader in the field, he said. “It almost looks like a magazine. The pages turn and everything. You can zoom in. It’s sort of the wave of the future.”