The CEO of Future Publishing has issued words on the decision to close a bunch of magazines, including Total Film.
It’s been a difficult week or two for Future Publishing, and more than that, the people who work for some of its magazines. We learned this week that after 27 years, Total Film magazine is about to publish its final issue. Furthermore, that gaming magazine Play is shutting its doors, as well as All About Space, Total 911 and 3D World. Some of the firm’s websites are also affected.
It turned out that Future – as a public traded company it would have had to do so – issued a trading statement at the end of last week, pre-empting the closure news. In it, CEO Jon Steinberg explained the rationale.
The statement explained that Future had closed “a number of non-core or low to no growth assets, including its external video production unit, selected events and a small number of print and digital brands, representing c.£15m of annualised revenue and with margins below the Group’s average.”
Steinberg’s own statement adds that “We are making good progress with our Growth Acceleration Strategy since its launch last December. The progress, combined with our return to organic growth and the stabilisation of our online audience trends, means we will deliver a FY24 performance in line with market expectations.”
The word soup continues: “Whilst we remain mindful of the macro backdrop and the ongoing evolution of the media landscape, including updates in the search market, the highly cash generative profile of the Group and our cost base flexibility ensures we are well positioned as we look ahead.”
I’ve worked in and around magazines for over 25 years, and it is sadly part of the cycle that come the end of the year, it always tended to be redundancies aplenty. This year feels particularly savage, and the closure of so many magazines – it’s not just Future – particularly difficult.
As ever, thoughts very much with those affected, who find themselves looking for work, new freelance gigs, and some light at the end of the tunnel.
The final issue of Total Film goes on sale from 10th October.
