Sport magazine suspends publication

Men’s free weekly magazine Sport has suspended publication after its French parent company, Sport Media & Strategy, went into administration.

The last issue of the magazine – which is distributed each Friday at tube stations, gyms, health clubs, and airports – came out on April 3.

It is understood that a buyer will now be sought for the British edition of the magazine.

At MediaTel’s recent seminar on the ‘Future of Consumer Magazines’, Greg Miall, managing director of Sport, was asked whether the title was up for sale.

His response at the time was relatively upbeat. “It’s not the best market at the moment and profits have gone down during the recession but our vision is to make Sport better and cheaper,” he said (see Williams: “There is too much choice in the men’s magazine market”).

The latest ABC figures show that Sport has a circulation of more than 317,000 copies, a figure buoyed by a slight period on period rise of almost 1.5% (see ABC Results Jul-Dec 2008:Shortlist shows staying power in men’s lifestyle sector).