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Following in the Footsteps of Esquire, a Well-Known ‘Laddie’ Magazine That Targets Young Men Plans to Launch Its Own Cable Network. Music Label Too

Sep 13, 2013  •  Post A Comment

One of the best-known of the "laddie" magazines targeted to young men plans to start its own cable network, reports The Wall Street Journal. [NOTE: The WSJ is behind a firewall and may charge you to read this article.]

Says the article, "The owners of Maxim Magazine have agreed to sell the men’s magazine to a media group led by Calvin Darden, in a deal aimed at expanding the men’s lifestyle brand to cable television and to music production.

"In an interview, Mr. Darden said his newly formed Darden Media Group plans to create a Maxim-branded TV channel. He says he has already reached one distribution agreement with a pay-TV operator, and plans to complete two more in the weeks ahead. Mr. Darden is aiming to distribute the new channel to approximately 35 million households by year-end. He also plans to launch an independent music label based on Maxim."

The article adds, "Maxim magazine is one of the best known of a crop of male-focused ‘lad [or laddie] mags,’ which like other magazines, have suffered from readers’ flight to the Internet and a broader decline in print advertising. Lately, the magazine has attempted to reinvent itself as a multi-media company, expanding to platforms like online video and Microsoft’s Xbox gaming console."

The story also notes: "The move comes as other titles, notably Hearst Corp.’s Esquire magazine, look to television partnerships for a boost as traditional revenue sources like advertising and circulation face an industrywide decline."

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