LONDON — Bauer Media Group has announced its intention to close the print and digital versions of lads' magazine Zoo, as well as FHM, by 2016.
Zoo was launched in January 2004 and published weekly by Baeur Media Group. It featured semi-naked women, comedy news, sports commentary and entertainment guides. Zoo peaked in 2005 with a circulation of 260,000, but had recently fallen to selling little more than 24,000 copies. FHM was published in 1985 as For Him Magazine, peaking in 2000 at a circulation of 700,000 before dropping to less than 67,000 for the first six months of 2015.
"Gents, we have some news," read a statement from the Zoo team about the suspension. "It is with regret we have to inform you of the intention to suspend publication of Zoo. We've loved every minute of the near 12 years and 600-plus issues we've shared with you and would like to thank each and every one of you who've been there with us along the way.
"We'll keep you updated with any other news over the coming weeks and we hope you enjoy our last few issues," it continued. "Trust us, they'll be good'uns."
"I greatly appreciate [editor-in-chief] Damien McSorley’s leadership and the dedication and effort from both teams," Publisher Gareth Cherriman said. "I would like to thank our advertisers and retailers who have supported the brands and I’m sure that everyone who has worked on FHM and Zoo over the years will be sorry to hear this news."
