Crain Communications licenses Autoweek’s Digital assets to Hearst media, kills print magazine.

After 61 years publishing a print edition of Autoweek bi-weekly in recent times, Crain Communications called it quits for the paper future of AutoWeek. According to Media Post, Hearst Magazines and Crain Communications struck up a deal where Hearst gets a licensing deal to continue “to operate the digital and experiential businesses of Autoweek.”

“Crain will cease publishing the print product, which was produced twice a month. “

This does not mean AutoWeek is gone completely because, as mentioned, assets like online articles, e-mail newsletters and podcasts will still continue.

The website, with 10M monthly page views, will be the bulk of AutoWeek’s profitability.

Hearst have kept all of AutoWeek’s editorial staff.

The entire editorial board was retained by Hearst in the acquisition. All things considered, we were very fortunate.



Autoweek's digital business will expand. The effort put into our beloved print product will simply be redirected to other mediums.



There is opportunity in change — Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverAW) October 15, 2019

Losing another car magazine in print is however noteworthy. Car magazines are a staple of print since cars became a part of people’s everyday lives. With most auto enthusiasts and consumers switching to a digital platform, print magazines became redundant, often reprinting stories that are published digitally within a matter of days.

That doesn’t mean Autoweek’s reach in a paper medium doesn’t have any current reach as it’s ranked in the Top 10 of Car Magazines.

According to Cision, AutoWeek ranked #6 in a Top 10 listing of the largest Car Magazines by monthly circulation reaching about 290,000 monthly subscribers.

Hearst owned Car and Driver and Road and Track ranked #1 and #3 while Motor Trend Group owned Motor Trend and Hot Road Magazine ranked #2 and #4.

Perhaps the story of why Hearst probably won’t bring on a third car magazine is in Autoweek’s readership. According to Autoweek’s latest media packet, 73 percent of their print subscribers have been a subscriber for over 10 years.

The average age of their print readership is 50 years old, Gen-X’ers and Boomers holding up the bulk of anything print. Hearst Magazines saw the writing on the wall; there’s no future for Autoweek’s print editions.

It’s been an illustrious run for the car magazine that started as a bi-weekly newsletter. Back in 1958 when Autoweek was called “Competition Press” subscribers could expect two newsletters a month on the first and third Thursday. Yearly subscriptions where just $4 (or $8.88 today.)

You can read an online version of their very first issue linked here.

In 1964, distribution matched its name and subscribers got 52 issues a year.

In 2009, they halved 52 to 26 and Autoweek became a bi-monthly publication until its end.

Crain Communications still owns, prints, and distributes Automotive News, an, ironically, weekly trade newsletter, to a much smaller distribution.

Thinner, without fluff, and focused, AutoWeek will always be that car magazine you read more timely news pieces covering wide swatches of the automotive landscape those other larger magazines just didn’t have the print space for.

In recent times, the editorial team transformed the print editions as arguable print works of car art as far as the covers went.

Oh man, the new issue of @AutoweekUSA is 🔥🔥🔥



That's Kaz Yamauchi on the cover. This week, we hand out the annual Autoweek Awards, spotlight Nashville's motorsport ambitions and there's a Snowball Derby story!

Subscribe: https://t.co/wljqoum8kf pic.twitter.com/7yvDkSyhcq — Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverAW) December 14, 2017

To me AutoWeek was the magazine I read in between the monthly publications, providing me with a print source of car news more often, and for that I loved it.

No word on what the official last print edition of AutoWeek will be but I’m sure it’ll be a bittersweet one.

Do you have a favorite memory about AutoWeek? Let me know in the comments below.