Outside Inc. Lays Off 15% of Staff in Digital Transition

Outside Inc. told staff on Friday that it would be laying off around 15% of its 580-person workforce––between 85 to 90 people––as the bundled publisher continues its transition to a primarily digital company, the Denver Business Journal reported Friday. The media company, which is composed of 36 individual publishers including Backpacker, Ski and Climbing, will also eliminate three of its titles as part of the restructuring, according to chief executive Robin Thurston. It will phase out the mountain-biking magazine Beta, bicycling magazine Peloton and fitness magazine Oxygen over the next six months. Outside Inc. will also cut the majority of its other print publications, reducing their print cadence to one or two special issues per year, except for flagship title Outside Magazine. The company plans to direct more of its resources toward producing video content. “The goal is really to create more immersive, high-quality storytelling,” Thurston told the DBJ. “We’ll still have some print. But on a move-forward basis, we’re really trying to move into more high-quality video.” Outside Inc. launched its two-tiered digital subscription program, called Outside+, in June 2021, offering readers access to its stable of titles, as well as a variety of other perks, for either $49 or $99 annually. The media company now claims to have more than 800,000 paying subscribers. But as economic conditions grow uncertain, companies are increasingly looking to cut costs, and Outside Inc. pointed to its more than 20 acquisitions over the past two years as a source of redundancy. By trimming headcount, reducing print cadence and further consolidating operations, the publisher aims to better position itself financially and focus more resources on growth areas like video. The unique, bundled approach of Outside Inc. As more media companies jockey for market share in the digital subscription space, Outside Inc. aimed to set itself apart by providing its readers with an overabundance of value. For $49 per year, subscribers gained unlimited digital access to all 36 of its titles, one print magazine and discounts on gear. But for $99, subscribers gained that same unlimited access, in addition to a deluge of benefits that catered to its sporty clientele. Premium subscribers enjoyed access to Outside TV, its connected television offering; free books from endurance sports publisher VeloPress; a subscription to mapping service Gaia GPS and early access to sought-after gear and discounts. The publisher designed its offering based on the premise that its average reader might enjoy different adventure activities during different times of the year, such as biking in the summer and skiing in the winter. As a result, Outside Inc. believed that by bundling its titles and perks into one package, it could serve as the de facto media resource for anyone interested in an active lifestyle. A flurry of acquisitions brought growth, but retention is key Last July, Thurston told Adweek that it was taking steps to prioritize retaining its subscribers––it claimed to have 500,000 digital subscribers and 1 million print subscribers at the time. However, the market for digital subscriptions has only grown more contested since then. Streaming companies like Netflix, services like CNN+ and publishers across the board have experienced headwinds to their growth, as uncertain economic conditions and rising inflation lead consumers to reevaluate their expenses. Outside Inc.’s plan to prioritize video echoes industry-wide trends, as connected television, vertical video and social video all swell in importance. Like other publishers, Outside Inc. will look for new channels to translate its wealth of intellectual property into video content, a trend that has seized the industry as slumping traffic leads publishers to seek out audiences through other avenues.

Digital Transformation

Outside Inc. Lays Off 15% of Staff as It Transitions to Digital

The publisher has acquired more than 20 companies in two years

Mark Stenberg

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Mark Stenberg