Practical Sportsbike mag goes under

[Skub]

The likes of myself are probably to blame,as I rarely buy a magazine of any description,despite reading them all back in the day.

From editor Chris Newbigging.

ANNOUNCEMENT: The April issue of PS goes on sale next Wednesday (March and is due with subscribers imminently. I am gutted to inform you that it will also be the final issue, as Bauer Media has concluded it is no longer viable to produce it.
The deciding factors are simple, and beyond our control as an editorial team: the cost of printing, and to a lesser extent distribution, have increased dramatically in the last 18 months or so for any printed product. Our sales performance has been strong – we posted an 18% circulation increase in 2021, and our 2022 figures were good too, but the economics we're dealing with have forced our hand. There simply isn’t a way to balance the books, and still produce PS the way we want to.
Subscriptions will be transferred to our sister title Classic Bike for the remainder of their duration in the first instance; a separate letter will be sent detailing this in full, with contact details for any queries. Commercial advertisers will also be contacted directly in the coming days. Please don’t contact editorial staff direct about these matters – only the relevant departments can help.
All that’s left is for me to thank the PS team: Alan, Damian, Gary, Jim, Mark and Simon in particular have put heart and soul into producing the best mag we can. I’d also like to thank everyone who’s supported the mag: buying a copy or two, getting directly involved by telling us your stories, and letting us see/ride your bikes. No other title has ever been so directly reliant on its own readership to fill pages, and you’ve always stepped up and made what we do possible. You’ve been brilliant. Thank you.­­

[asmethurst99]

Bugger - I started buying it a few years- I looked forward to it esp the eBay bargains bit - Double Bugger

[mangocrazy]

Damn. That leaves a real hole in the market. But I'm probably typical of their readership, buy the mag once or twice a year. That doesn't keep the presses turning.

[Bustaspoke]

That's a blow.Before the internet I read a lot of Bike magazines but stopped reading them until the last couple of years.When I started reading them again, PS was one of the three mags I would buy depending on the content.

[Supermofo]

I took out a Bike Unlimited App subscription during lockdown and was well happy with it as it was only 7.99 a months for all the mags. They canned the App in favour of an App for each magazine, which was £1 less per month so in essence to get what you had would have gone from 7.99 to 40 odd quid. I'd have paid a bit more but the reality was I was only reading an article or 2 from each one each month and I didn't look at classic bike or built at all so in my mind it was no longer worth it. The other problem is Ride, Bike and MCN broadly have the same bikes at the same time so there is a lot of repetition. My guess is they need to reduce the amount of mags, but if they bundled that into a App then I might pay for that. I'd not bother with actual paper mags anymore

[Jody]

Damn. That leaves a real hole in the market. But I'm probably typical of their readership, buy the mag once or twice a year. That doesn't keep the presses turning.

Is there really a market for printed media anymore? It seems every comment on this thread alludes to " I buy it once or twice a year ".

It's a shame because people will loose their jobs and thats always sad. However as a species we really should have dropped printed media by now.

[Skub]

Damn. That leaves a real hole in the market. But I'm probably typical of their readership, buy the mag once or twice a year. That doesn't keep the presses turning.

Is there really a market for printed media anymore? It seems every comment on this thread alludes to " I buy it once or twice a year ".

It's a shame because people will loose their jobs and thats always sad. However as a species we really should have dropped printed media by now.

Dunno the figures,but books still sell plenty in analogue form.

[wull]

I’m the same, years ago I’d buy them all but now I rarely buy any. Sadly it’s the way it is with the ridiculous cost of living going way up, I’m sure there will be many more going under because of it.

[Taipan]

Never heard of it. But then the last time I bought a magazine was probably in the early 90s!

[MyLittleStudPony]

Magazines are a bit like steam trains. They've had their day.

I remember back in t'day when I were on t'mags (me! me! me! me!) - getting invited to Japan the next day, spending a couple of days in Tokyo, then getting the bullet train to Suzuki's test track at Hammamatsu, past Mt Fuji, then getting the latest Gixxer of the clock on the long straight. Then back to Tokyo with the rolling boys' club and into the fancy restaurant and hostess bars with the corporate wallet. And getting paid to do it. Those days are gone now though.

[Bigjawa]

I haven't bought a mag in years, I got fed up when they became full of ads for wank lines and jamster ring tones. Also the writing style became more FHM than MCN. I'd maybe have a quick look in Tesco when the Mrs was doing the shopping, but I didn't see anything that would make me put my hand in my pocket. If you've seen one 600/1000/ADV group test, you've seen them all.

[A_morti]

I've been gifting dad_morti a subscription to that for a while now. I'll have to think of a new annual gift!

Edit: just checked my emails, it's been since about 2013!

[Skub]

Magazines are a bit like steam trains. They've had their day.

I remember back in t'day when I were on t'mags (me! me! me! me!) - getting invited to Japan the next day, spending a couple of days in Tokyo, then getting the bullet train to Suzuki's test track at Hammamatsu, past Mt Fuji, then getting the latest Gixxer of the clock on the long straight. Then back to Tokyo with the rolling boys' club and into the fancy restaurant and hostess bars with the corporate wallet. And getting paid to do it. Those days are gone now though.

These days it's all about inhaling that vintage parquet floor dust.

[Scud]

I can’t remember the last time I bought a magazine. Just last week I stood in a queue in a local shop and noticed all the magazines and did wonder if many are sold, they even still had a large top shelf selection which I assumed just weren’t a thing anymore with the amount available on the net

[westers151]

Al Fagan, ex Fast Bikes, and he of 44 Teeth Youtube Channel, saw this coming years ago, hence the channel.

Sad, however inevitable.

[Jody]

Damn. That leaves a real hole in the market. But I'm probably typical of their readership, buy the mag once or twice a year. That doesn't keep the presses turning.

Is there really a market for printed media anymore? It seems every comment on this thread alludes to " I buy it once or twice a year ".

It's a shame because people will loose their jobs and thats always sad. However as a species we really should have dropped printed media by now.

Dunno the figures,but books still sell plenty in analogue form.

TBF I was thinking more about newspapers and magazines. Books are slightly different IMO but even so, all those kindle sales surely couldn't of increased a demand for physical books?

[Skub]

TBF I was thinking more about newspapers and magazines. Books are slightly different IMO but even so, all those kindle sales surely couldn't of increased a demand for physical books?

Yeah,there's no doubting the trend to digital. I don't know about others,but I like a break from screen time. If you are working online and browsing online,then Kindle books is just another load of time spent with a screen in your face. A paper/mag/book at least gives a little respite.

Still,people will do what people do.

[ChrisW]

These days I only read physical books, I just don't enjoy reading on a device in quite the same way. The only occasion I still would is if I ran out of books whilst on holiday or a trip etc.

Magazine and newspapers however, I can't remember the last time I bought one. But then I try to avoid the news in general.

[Whysub]

I just got fed up of bike magazines some years ago, just seemed to regurgitate the same things ever few months.

Bit like YouTube bike channels, many just do the same stuff. Watched a few 44Teeth videos, but they soon became very repetitive. Seen it all before on other channels, and seen it all since on other channels.