Besides the general pain being felt by magazine publishers with fewer ad pages, adult magazines have been also been hit by the profileration of free porn on the internet and a failure to adopt the 'winning designs' for their business models on the internet - e.g. affiliate marketing.
Great content is what distinguished adult magazines i.e. Playboy, Penthouse, Huslter from their print rivals, however on-line.... traffic was the most imprtant factor and they failed to develop the traffic sources that their audio text pedigreed or newly founded internet rivals did.
Second, adult magazines sell representations of sexual situations. However a picture bears less similarities to the experience of sex than a motion picture or a real live interaction with a model in a live chat. Given a choice more consumers would choose a motion pcitures or the internet.
I do believe adult pubs do have some oppurtunities for example in MMS content. This deliever channel is still in its infancy in the US. If an adult pub can develop a profile in this market i think their brand awareness would be a advantage. They just need to be nimble.
BTW. I would not look to Playboy as a successful on-line operation. They overspend like crazy and as result their margins are razor thin. e.g. $300,000 on $9.3 million in Q1 2003
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11-10-2003
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