Extreme sports magazines
The extreme sports sector – which includes BMX biking, trials biking, kitesurfing, mountain biking, skateboarding, snowboarding, surfing, windsurfing and adventure sports such as canyoning – is dominated by smaller publishers that were started by enthusiasts. It is also called 'action sports'. One area the big publishers control is mountain biking, where Future and TI Media have the biggest-selling titles. Some publishers have international arms in France, Germany and the US. Some established titles have expanded to cover extreme sports, for example, Ski & Board, published by the Ski Club of Great Britain, covers snowboarding, as does Daily Mail Ski & Snowboard Magazine.Most titles do not have ABC figures because their sales are small (under 30,000). Some publishers quote readership (readership explained). Sales may be higher outside the UK than at home. It is estimated that 800,000 people regularly take part in action sports in the UK.
There has been consolidation in the extreme sports sector, with, for example, Dig BMX being taken over by 4130 in 2005. A year later, 4130, Action Sports Media and Permanent – which had been co-operating in backroom activities such as distribution and a central web portal – merged as Factory Media. However, given the alternative lifestyles of their creators, there is a danger that such titles may not thrive in corporate environments. 4130 took an arm's length approach to Dig BMX with staff still running the title from Glasgow. Big UK event of the year for extreme sports is NASS in July.
328 Media328 Media is based in Lewes, Sussex. Titles include: |
4130 Publishing (Factory)Part of three-way merger that formed Factory Media in December 2006. Based in Dorchester, Dorset. Titles included:
Also publishes videos and DVDs such as No Front Teeth and Transworld Motocross. 4130 is a type of steel used for bike frames. Chromium and Molybdenum are added to increase its tensile strength. |
Action Sports Media (Factory)Part of three-way merger that formed Factory Media in December 2006. ASM had its head office in London with editorial offices in Munich, Germany and Anglet, France, two big action sports regions. ASM has a pan-European business model whereby all its titles are published in English, French and German and distributed in 74 countries.
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Arcwind PublishingArcwind is based in Oxfordshire. Titles include:
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Wavelength Media / Endless Summer Media / Cornwall & Devon MediaWavelength Media / Endless Summer Media / Cornwall & Devon Media, 1981-Wavelength magazine is published by Wavelength Media in Exeter, Devon. The company also publishes The Reason, a snowboarding magazine, and the Snowboard's Buyer's Guide. Wavelength established in 1981 and markets itself as 'Europe's original surf magazine'. It was owned by Cornwall and Devon Media, part of the Northcliffe local newspaper group controlled by the Daily Mail & General Trust until it was sold to Endless Summer Media in 2009. At the time, Cornwall and Devon Media published five weekly newspapers in the two counties – including The West Briton, which dates back to 1810 – and runs websites, such as Cornwall Today. It had taken over Wavelength in 2004. The Northcliffe local newspaper group is now part of Reach plc |
DMG World MediaDMG World Media is an international exhibition and trade publishing company. Daily Mail Ski and Snowboard Magazine is published from its offices.DMG profile |
Factory MediaIn December 2006, Factory Media was formed as a holding company for the merger of three specialist sports publishers: Action Sports Media, Permanent Publishing and 4130 Publishing. In 2017, Factory Media was bought by Square Up Media, but it went into liquidation a year later. The 2006 merger had brought together 12 UK titles,13 international editions and 13 websites, including:
In March 2007, Factory Media launched an extreme sports portal, Mpora.com, with sections based around the magazines' contents: snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, BMX, motocross, free skiing and mountain biking. This was followed by a TV channel in 2008 and an extreme sports section on Yahoo Eurosport. In that year, Factory Media bought AdrenalinTrip.net, a snowboarding and motocross website, and SurfCore.net, which focuses on surf forecasting. In August 2009, Factory bought Boards, a windsurfing magazine and website. |
Freestyle GroupFreestyle Group set up in 1999. Titles include:
Its biggest brand is Boys Toys, a lifestyle-oriented gadgets title and retail website, founded in 1999. |
Future PublishingSpecial interest publisher launched Mountain Biking UK and What Mountain Bike; bought road racing title Pro Cycling from Highbury in 2005. All titles accessed through biking portal, Bikeradar.com. US arm also has an action sports division with consumer and online trade titles, such as Snowboard.Future profile |
Highbury (closed)Inherited Maximum Mountain Bike and Pro Cycling when bought Cabal. Former closed and sold latter to Future.Highbury profile |
Huck LimitedJune 2006 launch for Huck, a five-times-a-year title (later 6) devoted to board sports – surf, skate and snow – with music, film and the arts thrown in. Second issue was in September. The title is published in English, French, German and Italian. Distributed in US. Available at Borders, Waterstone’s, Harrods, Selfridges and selected newsagents. The editorial strategy has expanded to become a 'counter-culture' magazine, taking in alternative lifestyles of all kinds, but always with high quality photography, illustration and production values.In November 2006, the independent publishers of music title Plan B (closed May 2009), film magazine Little White Lies and Huck announced a partnership to co-operate on the commercial aspects of publishing. By the end of 2009, LWL and Huck were both published by Church of London. |
IPC Country & Leisure (now TI Media)IPC Country & Leisure was a division of UK's largest publisher with Mountain Bike Rider, Cycling Weekly and Cycle Sport in its portfolio. IPC was controlled by AOL Time Warner, which also controlled Transworld before going through zeveral name changes to become TI Media.IPC profile |
Media Cell (closed 2004)Media sales and creative agency that published Adrenalin with English, German and French versions of a surf, skate and snow lifestyle title, but this closed. Magazine with same title was published by Metropolis but since closed also.Media Cell profile |
MetropolisMetropolis was established in 1994 and has consumer and business titles, though it has focused on the latter since 2010. These included Adrenalin, which covered music, art, literature, film and fashion for people who surf, skate and snowboard. It was a quarterly and was first published in autumn 1999 but it closed. It had English, German, French and Italian editions. The title appears to have been used by three companies in recent years: Alliance International Media (1997 launch); Media Cell (owners in 1999); and MetropolisMetropolis profile |
Network26.com (Mpora.com)Extreme sports portal run by Permanent Publishing for its titles and other publishers. Became part of Factory Media's Mpora.com. |
Orca PublicationsBased in Newquay, Devon. Publishes three surfing titles:
The company runs an online shop selling surfing DVDs, posters, books and accessories. |
Permanent (Factory Media)Part of three-way merger that formed Factory Media in December 2006. Permanent is based in Abingdon, near Oxford. It was established in 1995 and set up a US arm in California in 2002.
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PitpilotSurfing magazine founded in 2004. |
Rouleur (Gruppo Media)Rouleur magazine was founded in 2006 and immediately established itself as a classic title – demonstrated by the demand for issues on eBay and the high prices paid for copies of the first issue – typically between £80 and £200.The magazine states: 'Staffed entirely by passionate cyclists, we are obsessive about the sport and its rich heritage. This passion goes into everything under the Rouleur name, representing "cycling excellence" and becoming synonymous with the quality of its products and audience.Rouleur magazine is the world’s finest road cycling journal, for the most discerning rider.' A bold claim, but one that it lives up to. Set up a Classic Rouleur cycle show in 2015. |
Scuz MountainboardingScuz Mountainboarding was set up in 2003 'as a harmless poke at the industry and the sport' by 'Welly and Andy W'. It planned to relaunch as a mainstream glossy Mountainboard in 2007. It ran websites mountainboardmag.co.uk and scuz.info but these were closed by the end of 2008. |
Ski Club of Great BritainSki & Board, which is free four times a year to members of the Ski Club of Great Britain, covers snow-boarding. The club was founded in 1903.Ski Club website |
Grind TV (was Transworld)Grind TV called itself a gateway to adventure sports and outdoor lifestyles. Formerly Transworld Media, part of publishing behometh Time Inc. The company came under the control of American Media Inc in 2019, and several titles were closed within months.
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Extreme sports titles (2005) |
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| Title | Publisher | Launch date | ABC sales Jul-Dec 2008* |
| Adrenalin | Media Cell | 2004 | closed |
| Adrenalin | Metropolis | 1999 | closed |
| Adrenalin | Alliance International Media | 1997 | closed |
| Business | Transworld (US) | 1999 | |
| Carve (surfing ) |
Orca (8 a year) |
1994 | |
| Cooler | Action Sports Media / Factory Media (4 a year) |
2005 | |
| Daily Mail Ski & Snowboard | DMG Media World (5 a year) |
13,998 | |
| Dig BMX | 4130 / Factory Media (6 a year) |
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| Dirt Mountain Bike | 4130 / Factory Media (6 a year) |
1996 | |
| Document Skateboard | 4130 / Factory Media (9 a year) |
2000 | |
| Huck | Church of London/ Huck Ltd (6 a year) |
2006 | |
| Kingpin (skateboarding) |
Action Sports Media (9 a year) |
2002 | |
| Kiteworld (kitesurfing) |
328 Media / Factory Media (6 a year) | 2001 | |
| Maximum Mountain Bike | Highbury | closed | |
| Moto | 4130 / Factory Media (6 a year) |
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| Motocross | Transworld (US) | ||
| Mountain Biking UK | Future
(13 a year) |
1998 | 45,681 |
| Mountain Bike Rider | IPC
Country & Leisure (12 a year) |
1997 | 35,653 |
| Mpora.com | web portal run by Factory Media | 2007 | |
| Network26.com – now Mpora.con | web portal run by Permanent Publishing / Factory Media | see Mpora.com | |
| Onboard | Action
Sports Media / Factory Media (7 a year) |
1994 | |
| Pitpilot | Pitpilot | 2004 | |
| Quad | Transworld (US) | ||
| Ride BMX | 4130
/ Factory Media (9 a year) |
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| Ride BMX (US) | Transworld (US) | ||
| Scuz Mountainboarding (Mountainboard from 2007) | Scuz Mountainboarding Zine | 2003 | closed 2008 |
| Sidewalk
(skateboarding) |
Permanent
/ Factory Media (12 a year) |
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| Skateboarding (US) | Transworld (US) | ||
| Ski & Board | Ski Club of Great Britain | 20,821 | |
| Snowboard UK | Freestyle | 1991 | |
| Snowboarding (US) | Transworld (US) | ||
| Surf (US) | Transworld (US) | ||
| Surf Europe | Action Sports Media / Factory Media(7 a year) | 1999 | |
| The Surfer's Path | Permanent / Factory Media (6 a year) | ||
| Surfgirl
(free with Carve) |
Orca
(4 a year) |
2002 | |
| Threesixty (bodyboarding) | Orca
(11 a year) |
1981 | |
| Unity | Arcwind (8 times a year) |
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| Urban Climber | Permanent / Factory Media (6 a year) | ||
| Wakeboard & Waterski | Arcwind (8 times a year) |
2002 | |
| Wavelength | Cornwall and Devon Media (11 a year) | 1981 | |
| What Mountain Bike | Future (12 a year) |
16,970 | |
| Whitelines (snowboard) | Permanent / Factory Media (6 a year) | ||
| Windsurf | Arcwind (10 a year) |
1979 | |
| *Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations (abc.org.uk) | |||
