Chicago magazine has a long feature devoted to whether or not Playboy magazine will survive. I worked for Playboy for years. My conclusion? I doubt it.
For five years, I worked for Playboy TV. Granted, it wasn’t the magazine, but we were subject to the same rules to which all divisions of Playboy Enterprises, Inc. were subject, and it wasn’t the freewheeling, nonstop party workplace you might think.
I worked for a small production company out in the San Fernando Valley that had been contracted to produce “original programming” for the Playboy network. The hallways usually reeked of pot, and the occasional naked girl did pop up, but most of the time, it was work. Work that happened to involve naked people.
via Playboy takes a long, slow nosedive – Susannah Breslin – Off the Record – True/Slant.
After rumors of his interest in acquiring Playboy sent its stock on a short flight, Virgin Atlantic CEO Richard Branson said today his company has no interest in buying the magazine.
“Reports that Virgin Group is looking to buy Playboy Enterprises are untrue,” a Virgin spokesperson said in an-email to Reuters.
On Wednesday, the Daily Mail reported Branson was “tipped as a potential buyer.” The story followed a report in the New York Post that Playboy was quietly floating an asking price of $300 million, or about three times its market cap, for the company.
via Virgin Denies Playboy – M and A and Finance @ FolioMag.com.
Put a playboy and a knight together and you’ll get folks talking. That appears to be the case with unconfirmed media reports that Hugh Hefner is considering a $300 million offer from Virgin Media’s Richard Branson for Playboy Enterprises Inc.
Those follow last week’s reports that the publisher of the iconic girlie magazine was being shopped to private-equity firms.
The stock for Playboy closed Tuesday at $2.98, up about 3.8 percent
via Reports say Virgin billionaire has fallen for Playboy :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Business.
Steve Johnson | Tribune Internet critic
- May 13, 2009
Playboy Enterprises reported a $13.7 million first-quarter loss and is contemplating “radical changes” to its flagship magazine to try to reverse its fortunes. Assuming Jessica Alba is out of the question, our suggestions:
–New single-copy sales kiosks placed in boys’ middle-school locker rooms.
–July cover story to tell readers that Internet porn has been outlawed.
via Playboy makeover: Ideas to turn around ailing adult magazine — chicagotribune.com.
Playboy Enterprises Inc. said Monday it is considering reducing the circulation of its namesake magazine, cutting its frequency and raising prices as it copes with the erosion of its print audience and advertising dragging down the adult-entertainment company.
The possible moves come as Playboy posted a net loss of $13.7 million, or 41 cents per share, for the first quarter, compared to a net loss of $4.2 million, or 13 cents per share, a year earlier. The latest results included $8.7 million in impairment and restructuring charges.Jerome Kern, Playboy’s interim chairman and chief executive officer since Christie Hefner stepped down at the end of last year, said in a conference call with analysts that while the magazine is important to the company’s image and brand, “it is clear that this company cannot continue to sustain significant losses in a business that now comprises less than one quarter of the company’s revenue base.”
Playboy is exploring what Mr. Kern described as “radical” changes to the magazine, including its 2.6 million guaranteed circulation. In addition, Playboy this summer will combine its July and August issues to save money on printing and distribution, a move it says could be a precursor to a permanent curtailing of frequency.
via Playboy May Cut Back on Magazine as Losses Grow : Porn Newz – Adult Industry News, Events & Articles.
By Franklin Paul
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Playboy Enterprises Inc, publisher of one of the world’s best known adult magazines, posted a wider fourth-quarter loss, hurt by $157.2 million in restructuring and other one-time costs, as well as weaker-than-expected revenue.
The company, which posted a net loss in each quarter of 2008, also said it would be open to discussions about an outright sale of the company, or changes in the strategic direction of the flagship Playboy Magazine.
Net loss for Playboy, which in recent months has seen a management shake-up including the resignation in December of longtime Chief Executive Christie Hefner, was $145.7 million, or $4.37 per share. This compares with a loss of $1.1 million, or 3 cents a share, in the year-ago period.
Playboy posts steep loss, will consider company sale | U.S. | Reuters.
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