Today saw the (re)launch of the UK version of Wired magazine. The title which has been highly successful in the US has been absent from the UK-scene for many years. Its return has been greeted enthusiastically (although there are some obvious fears in some quarters). We’ll post a fuller review on here in due course.

However, elsewhere in magazine-land, things aren’t quite as rosy with Dennis Publishing announcing that Maxim is to cease producing a print title and move all its content online. And there are some truly astounding stats on the back of this announcement:

“According to Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABCs), Maxim’s circulation for the six months to December 2008, was 45,951, made up of 34,871 news stand and 11,074 subscription sales. The magazine posted a circulation of 328,463 in 2000 and had a circulation above 107,000 in 2007.”

OK, so not really a fair comparison – two different titles, two different target audiences (though not entirely mutually exclusive I’d guess) – but still interesting nonetheless.

Wired obviously feel there is potential here in the UK for the title and they seem pretty determined to make it work, with advertising all over the place. But it does buck what seems to be an unstoppable trend, one which Maxim has fallen to.

And for Maxim there are undoubtable challenges too. The move from offline to pure-online wont be easy and, unfortunately, is set to mean a diminished workforce.

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