Business

Rogers to cut magazine print editions, sell some publications

Rogers Media says it is overhauling its magazine division by eliminating some print editions, shifting to more digital content and selling off some publications.

Maclean's goes to monthly print edition, business-to-business and several French titles to be sold

Rogers Media says Flare, Sportsnet, MoneySense and Canadian Business will go exclusively digital starting in January 2017.

Rogers Media says it is overhauling its magazine division by eliminating some print editions, shifting to more digital content and selling off some publications.

The company said Friday that the magazines Flare, Sportsnet, MoneySense and Canadian Business will go exclusively digital starting in January. Their content will be available on the web and through apps.

Four other titles will keep their print editions, but reduce their frequency.

Beginning in January, Maclean's will go from a weekly publication to a monthly, with new content posted digitally each week. Chatelaine and Today's Parent will produce print editions six times per year, instead of a dozen.

"We are going where our audiences are, and doubling down on digital to grow our consumer magazine brands," said Rick Brace, president of Rogers Media, in a release.

Selling French magazines

Rogers Media also plans to sell off its business-to-business publications and several French titles, including Châtelaine, LOULOU and L'actualité.

The company did not disclose if there will be any job losses as a result of the magazine shifts.

Amid the growing shift in how readers get content, Rogers said digital consumer magazine revenue is exceeding its newsstand revenue by 50 per cent

 "It's been clear for some time now that Canadians are moving from print to digital, and our job is to keep pace with the changes our audiences are demanding," Steve Maich, senior vice-president of digital content and publishing at Rogers Media, said in a statement.

The changes at the Rogers-owned magazines come just a few days after the company said it would be shutting down its Shomi web-streaming service.