Future-PLC
Latest
Future publishing restructure resulting in loss of 170 UK jobs
Restructuring at magazine publisher Future will result in the a loss of over 170 jobs in the UK, the publisher reported in its half-year financial results (ending March 31, 2014). Known for gaming publications like OXM, PC Gamer, CVG and Edge, Future announced its global plans to "refocus and simplify" at the beginning of the month. Future reported an increase in its normalized UK revenues by two percent to £41.5 million ($69.4 million), which accounted for 85 percent of the group's total revenue. Its normalized U.S. revenue was down 14 percent for the half-year to £7.3 million ($12.2 million). Part of Future's plans involves the sale of the company's sport and craft properties to Immediate Media for up to £24 million ($40.1 million). The sports magazines include Procycling, Cycling Plus and Mountain Biking UK, whereas the craft publications in question include both the UK and US Mollie Makes magazines, The Knitter and Simply Knitting. [Image: Future PLC]
Restructuring and redundancies at Future
Future, known for game magazines and websites such as OXM, PC Gamer, CVG and Edge, is undergoing further global restructuring, which will result in layoffs across the company. "No part of the business will be unaffected," according to CEO Zillah Byng-Maddick. That includes the management board, which will be "streamlined" as part of the process. MediaWeek reports that Future will "no longer be structured around content types like technology but instead a single content and marketing team will produce all content." Strategically, Byng-Maddick says Future plans to "refocus and simplify," leveraging its ability to "attract large communities of highly engaged customers who want to buy things." Byng-Maddick's new plan seems to be at odds with former CEO Mark Wood's plan to transition Future to digital publishing. Attempting to move to digital "diluted [Future's] focus and distracted our talent," she said. Future currently owns dozens of brands across nine different categories, ranging from cars to tech, music, sports and, of course, video games. Exactly how these brands will be affected remains to be seen, as the number of redundancies will be decided after a 45-day consulting process.
WoW magazine preview now online
The World of Warcraft magazine, which hit a bit of a bump when it lost its Editor-in-Chief some time ago, is showing off some preview pages from its maiden issue. The whopping 40-page preview gives a glimpse of the magazine, which is scheduled to arrive at subscribers' doorsteps before the year is out (they're running out of time). The 148-page, advertising-free magazine is only available through subscription and will not be out on store shelves. The quarterly magazine is available in one- and two-year subscriptions of at least $39.95 and $69.95 respectively (price varies depending on your location). Published by Future PLC, the company behind official licensed magazines of XBox, PlayStation, and other magazines such as ImagineFX, PC Gamer, and T3, the World of Warcraft official magazine is as visually stunning as the other titles in its stable, albeit somewhat light on text. The magazine shows off exclusive commissioned art, such as some gorgeous pieces by fantasy art star and Dungeons & Dragons veteran Wayne Reynolds. The first issue's articles include lore visitations such as the story behind Sylvanas Windrunner, columns on class roles, and even an interview with vanity pet guru Breanni of warcraftpets.com. The art and lay-out of the magazine looks gorgeous and seems to be a seamless fusion between the World of Warcraft aesthetic and Future PLC titles, although it remains to be seen how a quarterly print magazine can keep up-to-date material with an ever-changing online world. At any rate, the archival magazine looks beautiful, even if players might be better served by online, current articles on the game.
