To fund the two projects, Emap has been forced into a review of its magazine and radio operations, with jobs and brands being axed. Two magazines - style title The Face and teen magazine J17 - are to be closed unless buyers can be found.
Last week, Emap axed 20 jobs and restructured its marketing department following the exit of Emap Performance marketing director Malcolm Cox. His boss, Tim Schoonmaker, left in January.
Emap slashed the cover price of Zoo Weekly from £1 to 50p last week as it continues to be outsold by rival lads' weekly, Nuts. Zoo Weekly is believed to be selling 150,000 to 165,000 copies, while Nuts is selling more than 200,000. IPC responded to Emap's price cut by slashing Nuts' cover price from £1.20 to 60p. Both are investing heavily in TV.
Separately, Emap plans to launch a women's glossy this autumn. It is keen to fill the gap in its women's portfolio left by the loss of Elle and Red to Hachette Filipacchi, following the break-up of the two companies' joint venture in October 2002.
Two former Elle editors, Fiona McIntosh and Nicola Jeal, are working on the launch, rumoured to be a weekly fashion title with a celebrity and shopping focus. Such a venture would require funding similar to the £10m earmarked for Zoo Weekly.
Emap acquired The Face for £16m from Wagadon in 1999, along with Arena and the now-defunct Frank. In the latest ABCs, UK newsstand sales of The Face were 23,225.
J17 has struggled since its rebranding from Just Seventeen and its frequency switch from weekly to monthly in 1997. Latest sales are believed to have fallen to 75,000.
Other unprofitable titles also face the axe. Poorly performing music magazines, such as Mixmag, Kerrang! and Smash Hits, are under pressure.
Some believe the future of these brands lies purely in broadcast.
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
