Emap To Launch New Teen Weekly

Emap Performance is planning to launch a new glossy weekly teen magazine codenamed “Monkey”.

The magazine will launch in the spring with a strong celebrity focus and will include gossip, news and pop reviews. Emap claims that Monkey will compliment its existing titles Smash Hits and Bliss, bringing a “new dimension” to the increasingly competitive teen market.

Project leader, Jennifer Cawthron, said: “The teen market is an amazingly dynamic place to be. Readers need change with stunning speed and something new is needed to reinvigorate the market now. Monkey should be the must-read for the text generation, feeding their desire for topical gossip.”

The teen market as a whole saw circulation decline by 11.9% in the last set of ABC results (for January to June 2001) with all titles except DC Thompson & Co’s Shout falling foul of the sector-wide downturn (see Newsline). The ABC consumer magazine figures for the sixth month period ending January 2002 are due to be released next week and with Natmags’ recently launched Cosmo Girl (see New Teen Titles Launch) reporting for the first time, the teen market looks set to become tougher still.

Emap: 01733 568 900 www.emap.co.uk

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