Playboy bills new website as safe for work
Playboy at work? Looking to expand viewership among those who might court a lawsuit or dismissal if they fired up the regular Playboy.com site at work, Playboy Enterprises Inc. announced Tuesday a website called TheSmokingJacket.com, which the company bills as a “new safe-for-work men’s entertainment destination that provides guys with smart and sexy distractions throughout the day.”
Safe for work means no nudity, but plenty of Playboy-style hormonal prurience. Playboy founder Hugh Hefner greets viewers to the site in a weird little 21-second video of him sitting on a couch in, yes, his trademark smoking jacket.
“Next to the mansion it’s the best hang out on the planet,” Hefner says of the new site.
Chicago-based Playboy has struggled with the fact that most Internet viewership during the day happens at work, where Playboy.com’s nude fare isn’t acceptable. To capture eyeballs among the cubicle set, the company said the new site would feature a steady stream of content in categories like as “girls, entertainment, sex, videos and lifestyle.”
“The site will also spotlight some of best links and funniest videos from around the Web, as well as sexy, non-nude photos from Playboy’s archives,” a statement said.
The move comes as Playboy’s board considers a bid from majority owner Hefner to purchase the outstanding shares of the company he doesn’t already own, in a deal that values Playboy at about $185 million. His bid drew competition from FriendFinder Networks Inc., the owner of the rival Penthouse adult-entertainment franchise, which last week bid $210 million for Playboy.
Beating out Hefner, however, will be difficult. He currently owns 69.5% of Playboy’s Class A voting shares and 27.7% of its Class B common shares, giving him control. Playboy’s board has the duty to consider all offers and can reject Hefner’s bid as low. But they can’t force Hefner to sell his stock to somebody with a better offer, said John Coffee, a securities law expert at Columbia Law School.
Marc Bell, chief executive of FriendFinder Networks, has asked to press his case with Playboy’s board Wednesday.
