Giving away content for free on the Internet has hurt most every segment of the magazine and newspaper publishing industries. That includes the adult entertainment industry, where executives at Penthouse are reportedly at odds with each other over the viability of the money-losing magazine.
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Gawker.com reports that chief operating officer Anthony Previte of Penthouse parent company FriendFinder wants to shut down the publication because "it does not make any money and is in the red for production."
But CEO Mark Bell gave Gawker a different future scenario of the magazine, exclaiming a closing of Penthouse is unlikely since its parent had filed with the SEC for an initial public offering to raise $460 million, and the filing did not include a disclosure of any such shut down of the adult magazine.
The executive brouhaha at Penthouse comes just weeks after competitor Playboy Enterprises Inc. announced it would consider putting itself on the auction block as it posted a net loss of $145.7 million for the fourth quarter.
Overall, the adult publishing industry is ailing so much that earlier in the year Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler magazine, and Joe Francis, producer of "Girls Gone Wild" videos, announced in a press release that they are petitioning the newly convened 111th Congress to provide a financial bailout for the porn industry along the lines of what is being sought by the Big Three automakers. -
Gerald MagpilySee Gawker postSee Corporate Dealmaker: Playboy considers outright sale as losses mountSee Corporate Dealmaker: Porn execs seek $5B federal bailout
