Penthouse magazine plans to expand its website and move offices to L.A.
Penthouse magazine plans to expand its website to include daily updates and more interactive content. Above, the July 2003 issue.
Adult magazine Penthouse will expand its website to include daily updates and more interactive content as traditional print publications continue to pivot to growing online readership.
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FOR THE RECORD
4:25 p.m.: An earlier version of this story said Penthouse would close its print edition and move to an all-digital format. The magazine will continue to be printed.
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The magazine will also relocate its New York operations to the Los Angeles offices of its owner, FriendFinder Networks Inc., which is based in Campbell, Calif.
Although Penthouse already has a website, the current site is largely a “redo” of the print magazine, said Kelly Holland, managing director of Penthouse. The new website, set to launch March 1, will have additional content alongside some features from the magazine, she said.
“As FriendFinder Networks is one of the innovators of online social media, it is only appropriate that our valuable Penthouse flagship magazine now join our other Web offerings,” Chief Executive Jonathan Buckheit said in a statement. “This move will keep Penthouse competitive in the future.”
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Penthouse’s digital move comes three months after rival Playboy announced it would stop publishing nude photos.
Holland said Penthouse is fully committed to its print publication and that the expanded digital presence will enhance it.
“It has a gravitas,” she said. “As long as we can make that profitable … there’s simply no reason to think about doing something else.”
FriendFinder Networks said current Penthouse subscribers will receive information by mail on how to access the online version at no additional charge.
The company has faced financial difficulties in recent years. FriendFinder Networks filed for bankruptcy protection in 2013. In a statement released at the time, the firm said bankruptcy was “the most efficient and cost effective way for the company ... to continue to operate our business.”
The company was cleared to exit bankruptcy later that year.
FriendFinder was created in 2007 after Penthouse Media Group acquired Various Inc.
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