PC Magazine Goes Digital Only

PC Magazine PC Magazine has announced that they are going 100% digital and will no longer be selling print editions. It’s the flagship magazine of Ziff Davis Media and and has been printed for nearly 30 years. It’s not too surprising – apparently a large majority of their revenue was from their online website/digital editions, and print costs were rising, but it’s still kind of weird to see it happen.

As Michael J. Miller (who writes PC Magazine’s “Forward Thinking” blog) points out, they’ve been online for a few decades, starting with a BBS (Bulletin Board System) in the 1980s and then moving to CompuServe, and eventually PCMag.com, so it’s probably not too surprising.

The January 2009 issue (Vol 28, Issue 1) will be the last printed edition of PC Magazine. Print subscribers will then be offered PC Magazine Digital Edition (which has been online for six years). Subscribers will receive access via e-mail, either through downloading it or looking at it online. The downloadable edition will be portable and viewable offline. It’ll also have print options for those who want to print out a particular article.

I can’t blame them, since it does make sense. I used to be a subscriber, and I still find myself frequently checking PCMag.com, but it was always nice to pick up PC Magazine and a few others for reading material when going on a trip. They’ve been around for 27 years, and I’m sure they’ll be around for many more.

Read:
An Open letter to PC Magazine (Print) Readers
Requiem for PC Magazine (Print) (Michael J. Miller)