The publishing concern that made nude photos mainstream is now doddering, old and looking somewhat incontinent. Playboy Enterprises Inc. has been falling for a long time, failing to keep up with the rest of the porno pack on its old, arthritic legs.
Other magazines are available with more graphic photographs. Other cable channels are available with sex scenes on demand. There's enough pornography on the Internet to eat up all the bandwidth available. What was cutting edge fifty years ago has slipped back until it is so far from the edge that it's been left in the rear, outpaced by rapidly changing technology.
Shares of Hugh Hefner's enterprise have hit a 52-week low, presenting shareholders with first quarter results that fell short of expectations. Not that many men are picking up a copy of the magazine, which used to be famous for its soft-core porn as well as its notable columnists. Fewer lads are sitting in front of a cable-accessing television.
Back in the day, when the Chicago Mafia held sway over Las Vegas, a young man could turn to Hugh Hefner's advice on how to be cool. Clearly those days are well over, and the men who once read Playboy are now looking for advice on pacemakers and the most effective statins.
The publishing firm will re-work its web presence, but it's a game of catch-up rather than setting the pace. Once the innovator in delivering dirty pictures to Middle America, Playboy Enterprises is becoming irrelevant in a world that its founder essentially created.
2 comments:
It appears as if Hugh Hefner's media stunts have played out. Eight years ago the promise of a grand internet site that would control the world of porn have never come true. Now all they have left is E Entertainment to support a company that appears to be
fading into the sunset. The question is how long will E support Playboy.
There's a powerful creepiness factor to his reality show. That alone would do more harm to his empire than any possible good that would arise from free publicity.
Post a Comment