Commentary

'Dr. Oz The Good Life' Goes Quarterly

Dr. Oz has attained that sublime level of TV celebrity when they give you your own magazine with odd syntax in the title (see also: O, The Oprah Magazine, Everyday With Rachael Ray). But you might not be seeing quite as much of him at the newsstand, as publisher Hearst Magazines prepares to cut the frequency of Dr. Oz The Good Life from 10 times per year to quarterly distribution, according to Folio, which first reported the news.

Under the new market strategy Dr. Oz The Good Life will stop publishing monthly issues and transition to a quarterly “bookazine” with a higher newsstand price, as yet undisclosed. Folio further reports the transition to quarterly bookazine format entails layoffs for at least several staffers, although the exact number is also unknown.

The print edition of Dr. Oz the Good Life debuted in 2014 with a rate base of 450,000. It then moved to a schedule of 10 issues annually while the rate base increased to 800,000 in July 2015, then again to 925,000 at the beginning of this year.

Dr. Oz isn’t Hearst’s only TV-to-magazine champion.

Hearst recently partnered with Scripps Networks Interactive and celebrity lifestyle expert Ree Drummond, known for her blog and brand “The Pioneer Woman,” including the Food Network show of that name, to produce a magazine set in June. Both annual issues will be sold exclusively at Wal-Mart stores, which also sell Drummond’s housewares line.

Hearst also publishes Food Network Magazine, with a rate base of 1.75 million, and HGTV Magazine, a spinoff of the Home and Garden Network, with a rate base of 1.3 million.

There is plenty of competition in the TV-to-magazine business. Earlier this week, Meredith Corp. announced Magnolia Journal, its new lifestyle title based on home improvement stars Joanna and Chip Gaines, has racked up 700,000 subscribers after just three quarterly issues.

Magnolia Journal's debut issue launched last October with 400,000 copies and a cover price of $7.99. An annual subscription costs $20.

In 2015, Meredith launched a new print title called Beekman 1802 Almanac, which takes its name and editorial direction from “Beekman 1802,” a goat farm, store and e-commerce company made famous by “The Fabulous Beekman Boys” television series on The Cooking Channel. The show follows the epicurean doings and goat husbandry of owners Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge. The duo also have a book series and product lines carrying the Beekman brand. The magazine launched with a cover price of $9.99 and a circulation of 200,000.

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