Playboy blames print edition suspension on coronavirus: report

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Playboy magazine, the iconic publication founded by Hugh Hefner in 1953, announced in a letter from its company CEO, which was posted on Medium Wednesday, that it is suspending production of its print edition – blaming the decision on the coronavirus, a published report said.

"Last week, as the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic to content production and the supply chain became clearer and clearer, we were forced to accelerate a conversation we’ve been having internally." 

— Playboy CEO Ben Kohn

"Last week, as the disruption of the coronavirus pandemic to content production and the supply chain became clearer and clearer, we were forced to accelerate a conversation we’ve been having internally," Kohn said.

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The company had considered discontinuing the magazine Playboy long before the coronavirus outbreak because of the wide accessibility of free pornography on the internet and the decline of print in the digital age, USA Today reported. Instead, the company scaled back the once-monthly publication to bi-monthly in 2017 and quarterly in 2019.

Playboy magazine's CEO announced Wednesday, March 18, 2020, it was suspending its print edition as a result of the coronavirus, a published report said.

"We have decided that our Spring 2020 Issue, which arrives on U.S. newsstands and as a digital download this week, will be our final printed publication for the year in the U.S.," Kohn added. 

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Now, the company plans to move forward with content on a "digital-first publishing schedule" with hopes of producing "special edition" print publications in 2021, the newspaper reported.

"Print is how we began and print will always be a part of who we are.  Over the past 66 years, we’ve become far more than a magazine. And sometimes you have to let go of the past to make room for the future," he said.

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In its heyday in the 1970s, Playboy magazine had a circulation of more than 7 million, the report said. Marilyn Monroe covered the first-ever issue in 1953. More recently, Madonna, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Pamela Anderson, Kim Kardashian and Carmen Electra have gone on to be Playboy cover models.