I heard that Playboy magazine wants to pay some Z list ‘celeb’ $400,000 to appear in the magazine.
My question is how can this mag make any money?
Sure back in the day they were the only ones doing this sort of thing.
But now there is just so much competition and most of that competition comes from free websites. So why is anyone paying for the mag?
So with dwindling readers and massive payouts for appearances how do they make the books balance?
Or do they not? Is it a brand that Hef just keeps going at a loss?
Sure the clothing, casinos etc probably make money but they dont need the magazine, the brand is in place and would still be in place without it.
Hugh’s offered to buy outstanding shares and take the company private, and they’re also venturing into a videogame label. In conjunction with their website and cable television productions, I’d guess the magazine itself is a major loss-leader, useful to keep the brand alive, but really little more than advertising for other, hopefully future-profitable spinoffs.
The printed magazine is losing money. They no longer do 12 issues a year, etc. While Playboy sells quite well (here’s a list that ranks it 19th), that doesn’t mean much. TV Guide and Newsweek rank higher and are financial duds. Even Reader’s Digest is doing quite poorly. But many magazines with more prized demographics are doing much better. Advertisers pretty much don’t care for Playboy’s readers but love golfers.
OTOH, the online stuff is keeping the firm alive (just barely).
Remember: Always ignore the claims that some celeb was given/offered $X to pose for Playboy. Playboy tells the celeb to make up a number and they won’t contradict it.
My understanding is that the magazine costs more to produce than it brings in via sales. But overall it serves a valid purpose - it maintains the value of the Playboy brand. Playboy Enterprises makes a profit by selling various products that are identified with the Playboy image and licensing the Playboy name to other businesses. And if the magazine didn’t exist, that image would be less valuable. So Playboy magazine is like an advertisment - it may cost money but it sells other products.
I buy Playboy for my teenage son (to stave off him searching for teh nekkid online/behind our backs) and it costs like $11/year for a subscription. I’m not surprised that they lose money.
Either you’re misremembering, or you got a spectacular deal.
Many years ago some friends got me a subscription (because they thought my life was too dull), and I’ve never let it lapse. My subscription cost is about 3X what you cite.
Do they still put out a bajillion “special issues”? Playboy’s College Girls, Playboy’s Housewives, Playboy’s Lingerie Models, Playboy’s Redheads, Playboy’s Foreign Beauties, Playboy’s… etc, etc.
Because if, say, Kristen Bell is thought to have been offered $1 milllion to pose for Playboy, it makes her look sought-after (and thus more marketable as an actress) and the magazine look prosperous (which is good for the brand).
Sales are just part of it, revenue from ads are another. Another thing is respectablity. OK posing nude may be not respectable to a lot of folks, but IF you’re gonna pose nude, than Playboy is the most acceptable and respectable way to do it.
It’s not uncommon for introductory subscriptions to cost a fraction of what the renewal costs. This is what both *Archaeology *and *Skeptical Inquirer *do.
