Veteran TV trade journal Broadcasting + Cable is shutting down, in a sign of the times for media
The media business has gotten so tough that one of its longest-running chroniclers is going away.
Broadcasting + Cable, founded in 1931 as Broadcasting, will print its final issue in September. Parent company Future also is closing Multichannel News, a publication focused on the pay-TV business that has existed since 1980. Newsletters put out by both outlets also will cease publication.
According to a post on the Broadcasting + Cable website, Future will replace the publications with a new “curated” newsletter about media and entertainment. The New York-based publishing company’s NextTV news website will be revamped in October.
Future said it will continue to stage the Broadcasting + Cable Hall of Fame dinner, which provided a substantial portion of the publisher’s revenue. The annual New York event honoring executives and talent in the TV business is held in September.
“This industry is going through rapid transformation that requires our business to adapt,” said Amanda Darman-Allen, senior vice president for Future’s B2B Media & Entertainment Group. “By focusing our efforts on impactful in-person events and a unified newsletter, we believe we will maintain our role as a key connector and influencer.”
Barry Diller’s digitally-focused company acquired the titles last fall.
The company provided no information on any layoffs related to the closings.
Broadcasting first rolled off the presses in October 1931, when radio was the emerging form of new media. (“WABC Half-Wave Antenna Promising,” read the headline of one story in the inaugural issue.)
The title gave heavy attention to regulatory issues as TV and radio expanded and evolved over the course of the 20th century. The magazine’s title was changed to Broadcasting & Cable in March 1993.
Broadcasting + Cable has changed hands a number of times over the last four decades since its founding owners sold it to Times-Mirror, the former parent company of the Los Angeles Times, in 1986. Future acquired Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News from NewBay Media in 2018.
The print frequency of B+C and Multichannel News had been reduced from weekly to monthly.
The challenges facing the publications have become a familiar refrain for media companies.
Circulation of print magazines and newspapers has been on a steady decline in recent years as readers shifted to online sources. Getting comparable ad pricing for the audiences reached through internet journalism has been a challenge.
Most of the sources for media and entertainment industry news have moved online in recent years. Variety and Hollywood Reporter ceased publishing daily editions and now publish glossy weeklies. Sites such as Puck, the Ankler and Deadline all originated as digital-only outlets.
The audiences for B+C and Multichannel News also have diminished as the TV station business consolidated and contracted due to cord-cutting and the entertainment industry’s pivot to streaming.
Print publications are not alone in feeling the pressure of changing audience habits and elusive profitability. Upstart news website Axios announced Tuesday it is cutting 10% of its workforce.
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