William Yu reports that local magazine PC Mag Philippines will be suspended indefinitely. This is primarily due to low ad sales and high licensing fees forced Hinge Inquirer Publications to stop printing/distribution of the tech magazine.
Hinge Inquirer Publications regretfully announces the indefinite suspension of publication of PC Magazine Philippines under our aegis effective February 2007. Another tech mag, Game Master was also discontinued last year after 3 years in circulation.
Despite being the number one tech magazine in the country in terms of readership, the financial burden of the high monthly licensing fee from Ziff-Davis Media Inc., owner of the title, negates most of the local revenue we generate from advertising. Our company has maintained this difficult setup for the past two years and has tirelessly worked to achieve exceptional sales performance month after month in order to turn a small profit. But the licensing fees and other factors have made continuing PC Magazine financially untenable for HIP.
A few of us here at PTB have contributed an article or two to PC Mag and it’s a surprise to learn that the top tech magazine in the Philippines will be out of circulation.
A bigger question pops — is the local magazine industry dying?