Shortlist Media losses double as it closes men’s print magazine in shift to digital
Shortlist Media, the publishing group behind Shortlist and Stylist magazines, saw its pre-tax losses double last year as it looks to shift its advertising revenue away from print.
The company reported pre-tax losses of £8.6m in the year to the end of March 2018, with turnover rising marginally to £22.9m from £22.6m the year before.
“Shortlist Media continues a long-term transformation strategy to shift the major revenue stream from print display to multi-platform, predominantly content-based solutions,” the company said in a report filed to Companies House.
“It is expected that digital revenues will overtake print within the next three years and become the main driver of overall contribution,” it added.
The results come just weeks after Shortlist announced it was closing its free men’s magazine after 552 issues.
Shortlist magazine, which had a circulation of roughly 500,000, is the latest in a string of closures for magazines, after NME closed as a print magazine in 2018 and cruder men's titles like Nuts, Zoo and FHM shut their print operations in recent years.
Shortlist Media has rebranded to Stylist Group in a bid to focus on its free women’s magazine. It is a subsidiary of Scotland's largest publishing company, DC Thomson, whose other titles include The Dundee Courier and The Beano.
The company also said it will expand its events programme following its Stylist Live event at Olympia London in November.
The group employed 75 members of staff in 2018, though it was expected to lay off roughly 20 members of staff following the closure of Shortlist.