The magazine, which was launched in 1999, fell victim to a bad economy and declining ad revenues. Its ad pages declined 25 percent to 346 this year, per the Mediaweek Monitor.
"[G]iven the current advertising environment and the opportunities we see in emerging digital platforms, we think the time is right to transition the Adventure brand," National Geographic CEO John Griffin said in a prepared statement.
Prospective buyers had approached the company about the title, a company spokesperson told MediaWeek. "People came to us, but when we weren’t going to let go of the brand, it was a dead issue," the rep said. "It’s more valuable in-house."
National Geographic says it will keep the Adventure brand alive with newsstand editions, e-magazines, mobile apps, awards and a Web site.
additional reporting by Lucia Moses of MediaWeek
