Play time is over

In March earlier this year, New York Times' quarterly sports magazine "Play," was a finalist for the prize in general excellence at the National Magazine Awards. Yet just nine months later, the final buzzer rang, and the clock ran out on Play in November.

First published in February 2006, Play along with "T Style" and "Key," were introduced with the intention of bringing in luxury goods advertising for the Times. This strategy however hasn't been very successful for Play, and according to some reports was "bleeding cash." While Mark Bryant, editor of Play, has repeatedly told reporters that the magazine has been breaking even, editorial director Gerry Marzorati said otherwise: "“It was losing hundreds of thousands of dollars over several years and when you’re not going to see that turn around, that’s the problem."

In an attempt to separate itself from other sports magazine such as Sports Illustrated and ESPN the Magazine, Play was much more focused on the artistic aspect of sports, especially in how they staged and composed their photographs. Their content was nuanced and off the beaten path, and offered something that most other sports magazine didn't. And yet despite the unique perspective and the circulation of nearly 1.6 million of the Sunday Times, it couldn't avoid the fate of so many other magazines, and was the first sports magazine in recent times to do so.

The shuttering of Play, has more to do with the newspaper industry than anything. With advertising and circulation falling for newspapers, the Times had to make cuts, and Play was just the first to go. While it is unclear whether other newspaper magazines will meet the same fate, it is clear that if those magazines don't bring in some sort of revenue soon, they will. The Wall Street Journal and the Philadelphia Inquirer launched luxury magazines this year, while the Boston Globe launched the "OT," a sports magazine centered on "Our Town, Our Team." We'll have to wait and see whether or not these new launches will be successful editorially and in bringing in revenue for these newspaper.

Hopefully Play, or another magazine in the same mold as Play, can find life apart from the the New York Times. It offered fresh insight and a different perspective into the world of sports. And hopefully with the right mix of capable leaders, it could bring in the kind of advertising that can keep it afloat.