Primedia To Suspend Publishing of Teen Magazine

Posted on March 1, 2002

Struggling special interest publisher Primedia, Inc. announced that it will suspend monthly publication of Teen magazine with its May issue and that it would maintain the Teen brand through newsstand only special issues including Teen Prom and other projects in the areas of sports and movies.

John Loughlin, president and CEO of Primedia's Consumer Media and Magazine Group, said, "We knew that Teen was an extremely challenged property at the time of the emap usa acquisition, having undergone several repositionings. The publication struggled to establish a strong presence in the teen market as the number five brand in the category for the past several years. These issues have been heightened in the current advertising market. We are making this decision based on those business factors and fully recognizing the tremendous opportunity that exists as we focus our resources on enhancing Seventeen's leadership in the teen category. We also recognize the value of the Teen brand, and will look to significantly expand the number of issues and other offerings from Teen as the overall environment improves."

With the closing of Teen, Primedia will be placing its resources behind the Seventeen brand. As part of the decision, Primedia will serve Teen subscribers issues of Seventeen. Subscribers to Teen will begin receiving Seventeen with their June issue. Those subscribers who receive both magazines already will get additional months added to their Seventeen subscriptions. Teen had published ten issues a year. Primedia will be providing advertisers in Seventeen with more than 2.2 million units of bonus circulation June through December 2002.

This company said the decision will not affect existing publication schedules for Primedia's Youth Entertainment Group magazines, Teen Beat and Tiger Beat, nor any of the company's extensive teen-focused online activities.