It’s been rumored for years, and on Thursday it finally became a reality: Meredith said Entertainment Weekly magazine will publish its last “weekly” issue on June 25 and become a monthly as of August.
JD Heyman, deputy editor of People, will replace Henry Goldblatt as editor.
About 15 people will be cut as a result of the change.
Bruce Gersh, president of the Meredith entertainment division, which includes both EW and People, said that the cutback in print would be accompanied by deeper 24/7 digital coverage.
EW will still produce weekly digital “covers” and push into podcasts, and plans events and experiential offerings with stars and festivals.
Previous owner Time Inc. spent $150 million developing EW after its February 1990 launch, and was rewarded for its patience when the magazine made a six-figure profit at the end of 1996, and in its peak years was cranking out $55 million in annual profit.
Though still profitable of late, it was squeezed in recent years as celebrity coverage exploded across all platforms and print advertising shrank.
While still called a “weekly,” it was recently publishing only 34 issues a year. Meredith considered selling the title along with several others after it completed its $2.8 billion acquisition of Time Inc., but was convinced to keep EW in part because it was so intertwined with top money-maker People.
The company says it expects the move to monthly will increase EW profits, since it cuts production costs while keeping the same circulation and subscription price. But it plans to hike the newsstand price by a dollar, to $6.99.