Denver Magazine has ceased publication following the acquisition Tuesday of its intellectual property by competitor 5280 magazine.
The shutdown will leave about 15 staffers out of work and 50,000 subscribers without their monthly magazine.
5280 said the closure coincides with its purchase of Denver Magazine’s trademarked name, the Internet domain name denvermagazine and the magazine’s Twitter account and Facebook pages.
“The opportunity to acquire them presented itself, and we thought the trade name and the intellectual property were a good value,” said 5280 publisher Daniel Brogan. “There will be short-term and long-term benefits, not the least of which is we can be sure that nobody will come in and use the Denver Magazine name.”
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Acquiring the name could help funnel additional advertising revenue to 5280 from national advertisers or ad agencies searching for a local publication under the name Denver Magazine, Brogan said.
5280 is not assuming any of Denver Magazine’s liabilities or obligations, including fulfilling current subscriptions. Brogan said those subscribers may receive offers for discounted subscriptions to 5280.
Denver Magazine launched in 2008 as a bimonthly publication and converted to monthly later that year.
Its circulation was a combination of paid and free distribution.
“It’s very difficult to start a magazine in this market and maintain it,” said Ellen Gray, publisher of Denver- based lifestyle magazine Colorado View. “It’s been very hard for another magazine to come in and do what 5280 does so well.”
Gray, who said her readership is distinct from that of 5280, said the 2-year-old Colorado View is temporarily suspending publication of its print edition to focus on building online content.
5280 was founded in 1993. It has circulation of 85,000, mostly from paid subscribers.
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
