Sporting News Magazine is redesigning its print product and, as of September 1, cutting its frequency to every other week. The sports fans’ magazine will also launch a daily e-newsletter, Sporting News Today, on July 23.
The magazine is overhauling the brand to meet consumer demand for to-the-minute sports coverage and in-depth print features. Its 700,000 paid subscribers will receive all 50 issues promised in the subscription offer — just over a longer period of time.
“The world has changed; who goes to a newsweekly anymore for news?” said Ed Baker, publisher of Sporting News. “If you look at people who are sports enthusiasts, they want it by the minute and on demand.
“There’s still an enormous market for print,” he continued. “It’s not by any means dying, but it’s a resource for different purposes. In the case of Sporting News, people want to have a magazine for portability. You can show photography in a magazine that is different than what you’d get online, and the stories are introspective and behind the scenes.”
Sporting News Today, the new daily newsletter, offers a cross-market opportunity with the print magazine. Print and online Sporting News products are also promoted through the company’s radio network, which includes presences on Sirius and XM.
A redesign, which includes a switch to glossy paper stock and a 25% size increase, is also expected to boost the magazine’s readership. New writers, including sports stars Troy Aikman and John Elway, have also been hired to give the magazine some extra oomph.
