“Playboy” Published By Kouneli: What Makes Licensed Titles Successful?

Ms. Karsch, why is a licensed title worthwhile?

Myriam Karsch: “Playboy” was established on the international market right from the start. When we acquired the license in 2019, we already had around 42,000 subscribers in that quarter. Playboy had been well-known in the advertising market for just as long. Especially in marketing, but also in the reader market, the existing brand awareness makes it easier to enter the market.

Are there general requirements for a licensed title to work?

Karsch: On the one hand, as I said, it's the name recognition that helps with the launch. On the other hand, the license buys you the opportunity to take over content from licensors. There are titles in Germany that copy the licensed product from abroad 1:1. However, I don't think that will work in the long term. You always have to look at the buyers in the target country and cater to their interests in order to be successful. At “Playboy”, for example, we produce almost everything ourselves. We have a different concept for “Sports Illustrated”. Here, we produce up to 25 percent of the magazine content and around 70 percent of the website content ourselves.

How strong is the influence of the licensor? How free is the editorial team?

Karsch: That also varies. We are very free with both titles. We have been working with Playboy USA for a very long time. The USA now even uses our content, especially on the digital channels. So we have become an important content supplier for foreign countries, i.e. for the licensor and other licensees.

How much pressure is there on performance from the licensor?

Karsch: We tend to put the pressure on ourselves, as we have to be successful as a company. There is no strong pressure from the licensor, because the framework conditions of the collaboration are regulated in the license agreement. In the contract negotiations, you usually specify a percentage of turnover that you pay to the licensor - alternatively or additionally, you agree on a minimum guarantee. As long as the license payments are met, the licensor is usually satisfied, provided the product is produced in line with the brand. These agreements are not usually made from year to year, but over a period of three to seven years.

What role do the revenues from the digital versions of the licensed titles play?

Karsch: In general, “Playboy” is financed almost exclusively by readers and users and “Sports Illustrated” by marketing revenue. With “Playboy” as an established brand, we started with a subscription model early on. If you add the e-paper revenues, this results in a share of around 25 percent. Digital advertising revenues play almost no role anymore. At “Sports Illustrated”, the share of digital revenue is significantly lower and is still less than ten percent. Traffic on the website is still low, but is growing strongly.