Entertainment Weekly, InStyle to go digital-only as Barry Diller’s media group culls print

Barry Diller’s media group Dotdash Meredith is cutting print circulation of six magazines, including well-known brands Entertainment Weekly and InStyle, and making them digital-only, the company confirmed on Wednesday.

The six publications include Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, EatingWell, Health, Parents and People en Español, Dotdash Meredith said in a statement to The Hill. 

“Moving forward these brands will continue to thrive in a digital format,” the statement added.

However, the company confirmed that this change will impact 200 job functions — primarily in its New York offices — and supporting print operations.

Dotdash Meredith told The Hill the impacted jobs account for less than 5 percent of the total employees at the company.

“These employees have helped create some of the best media brands in the world. We thank them for their years of dedication and are committed to helping them make a smooth transition,” the company added.

Dotdash Meredith CEO Neil Vogel said that the April issues of the six magazines would be their final print editions, according to a Wednesday memo to staff obtained by The Wall Street Journal.

Dotdash, a digital publishing subsidiary of Barry Diller’s IAC, bought Meredith Corp. in a deal valued at $2.7 billion last year.

Vogel told staff in the memo that “this is an important step in the evolution of Dotdash Meredith, and I want to be clear with everyone about what we are doing and what is ahead,” Variety reported.

“We have said from the beginning, buying Meredith was about buying brands, not magazines or websites. It is not news to anyone that there has been a pronounced shift in readership and advertising from print to digital, and as a result, for a few important brands, print is no longer serving the brand’s core purpose,” he added.

Vogel added that the move to stop the print publication of the titles is part of an effort to turn these publications into digital-only brands, which “will help us to unlock their full potential.”

In the memo, which was published in its entirety by Variety, Vogel said, “Naysayers will interpret this as another nail in print’s coffin. They couldn’t be more wrong — print remains core to Dotdash Meredith.”

He said that while the decisions were “difficult,” the company believes “they are the correct decisions.”

He added that the company plans on investing in its 19 remaining print magazines, which include People, Better Homes & Gardens and Southern Living.

Dotdash Meredith also plans to invest $80 million in 2022 in content across all brands, according to the memo.