Monday 9 May 2012

Dirt Evolution – A Summer refresh for Dirt Mountainbike Magazine

Dirt, the World’s most respected Mountainbike Magazine is getting ready for Summer with a freshen up.

The power of Dirt has been built over many years since its inception in 1996. As the gravity led sector of the MTB market has evolved, Dirt has constantly tweaked its ingredients to maintain its market leading position. The last year alone has seen Dirt climb 33 positions in the UK’s league table of best selling magazines whilst its subscriber base has grown 5.5%. This year, as the media landscape continues to develop, we are again looking to evolve.

As of the June (issue #124, on sale May 28th), Dirt Magazine will be taking on a fresh look. The magazine will switch to a more compact format with a new size and a heavier stock paper. This change will obviously further increase the premium values of the print and paper and also make the format more readily consumable on the iPad and tablet platform as we are now sell more than 6,000 a month through this channel. Amongst other tweaks to the content, we will be changing our approach to product reviews. A review in print will now take on much more space as our team really get under the skin of each piece of kit and analyse it.

As we are changing the magazine approach, we are also adding to the Dirt website proposition with Ed Haythornthwaite now being focused full time alongside Billy Thackeray to enrich our offering.

With Ed’s background as a bike shop mechanic, frame builder and Atherton race team mechanic combined with his magazine experience, we think he will add greatly to the level of highly credible content we deliver on the platform. As a result, the website will now significantly increase the level of product features.

We really hope you enjoy the changes as we continue to deliver some of the best content to the market. Dirt Mountainbike Magazine is owned and published by Factory Media Ltd.

James Carter. Director, Dirt Magazine, Factory Media.

For further information please contact:
Mike Rose, Editor, Dirt Magazine – Tel: 01600 891518, Email: mike.rose@factorymedia.com
Kate Marley, Sales Manager, Dirt Magazine – Tel: 020 7332 9747, Email: kate.marley@factorymedia.com
Helen Wilson, Ad Production, Factory Media – Tel: 020 7332 9704, Email: helen.wilson@factorymedia.com
Website addresses: dirtmountainbike.com http://mpora.com

About Factory Media Ltd.
Factory Media is Europe’s largest and most innovative Action Sports media owner. The Company publishes 19 traditional print and 25 new media brands reaching over 500,000 readers and 4 Million online users every month. The business currently focuses on two market segments, Boardsports and Bike, with an international footprint and multilingual products.

Ride UK BMX Magazine’s fifth annual Ride to Glory kicks off today (May 4th) at Terminal 1 skatepark in Melton Mowbray.
This year sees the addition of a sixth team to the event as leading BMX brands travel the length and breadth of the UK going head-to-head for a week of savage riding, gruelling tasks and general debauchery. Ride to Glory has grown into the biggest BMX event of the year and this year the magazine will be its biggest issue at 180 pages.

The 2011 Ride UK Ride to Glory Issue caused a large uplift in copy sales and traffic to the Ride UK website during the week of the trip to over 135,000 views! The event spins off a DVD containing films created by each of the teams, which is then cover-mounted on the front of the August issue of Ride UK BMX magazine. This year also includes the addition of Maoam Stripes confectionary.

James Carter, Director of the Bike Market at Factory Media said, “Last years promotion caused a sales spike of more than 100 per cent on the issue and we again plan to push the boundaries on this issue. We have a print run planned of well over 40,000 copies which will see expansion across all areas of the newsstand, and significant up-weighting in grocery outlets including Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Sainsburies and the Co-Op. As with our BMX Basics magazine, we see this as a great opportunity to bring newer consumers who have yet to make brand choices into the core of the market.”

Ride UK BMX is owned and published by Factory Media Ltd

About Factory Media Ltd.
Factory Media is Europe’s largest and most innovative Action Sports media owner. The Company publishes 19 traditional print and 25 new media brands reaching over 500,000 readers and 4 Million online users every month. The business currently focuses on two market segments, Boardsports and Bike, with an international footprint and multilingual products.

For further information please contact:

Ian Gunner, Editor, Ride UK BMX Magazine – Tel: 0207 3329700

Email: ian.gunner@factorymedia.com

Website: rideukbmx.com

darryl.newton@factorymedia.com

We are looking for a creative and ambitious marketer to work across Factory’s portfolio with particular emphasis on subscriptions and direct marketing

For this role you need to be commercially minded with a track record in successful direct marketing and promotions.

You will ideally have at least 1 years magazine subscriptions experience within a B2C environment, including a proven ability to build successful subscription strategies and promotions.

You will need to be capable of managing multiple projects and competing deadlines, as well as being able to work effectively as an individual or as part of a team.

Previous experience of magazines subscriptions essential, and knowledge of action sports is desirable.

Apply with a CV and covering letter as to why you would be suitable for the role to chris.talintyre@factorymedia.com before 10th May 2012.

chris.talintyre@factorymedia.com

Today, Factory Media and Forward Internet Group announce that Forward has taken a majority stake in Factory Media – Europe’s leading action sports media company.

The move will allow Factory Media to accelerate growth in its flagship digital offering MPORA.COM and its network of 25 targeted sports websites including RoadcyclingUK.com and RideUKBMX.com, now reaching an audience of 4 Million sports fans each month.

Immediate investment will focus on social media, video development, website performance, ecommerce solutions and tablet media. The newly backed business will be able to bring a variety of advances to the market and exciting prospects for advertisers to extend their audience reach and interaction with Factory’s passionate group of communities.

Factory Media will be working alongside a stable of other successful web-based companies within the Forward Group, including uSwitch.com, a leading price comparison and switching site. This will specifically benefit MPORA.com/GEAR, Factory’s own product comparison platform recently launched for the worldwide cycling and snowboarding markets.

Offline media will still remain a vital part of Factory Media’s portfolio and the company will continue to cultivate its 19 consumer magazine brands as well as develop extensive new brand offerings to meet audience and advertiser demands, including market changing mobile and tablet innovation.

Factory Media’s ambition is to be the undisputed leader in innovative offline and online publishing, maintaining the integrity of each and all of its brands and their strong communities.

Factory Media are pleased to announce that 300,000 magazine apps have been downloaded through the Apple Newsstand in the first seven days of its launch, as part of the Apple iOS5 release.

The success of these niche sports magazines on Apple’s platform reflects the passion of youth markets for digital products with incredible photography and great editorial.

Factory Media has successfully released 19 magazine titles into Apple Newsstand.

Chris Talintyre, Head of Direct & Digital Marketing at Factory Media Ltd said, ‘The fact that Apple has now reached over 10 billion App downloads is testament to the success of the App Store as a digital distribution platform; Newsstand is the next logical step for the Apple and for Publishers.’

‘All of our magazine Apps are fully compliant with iOS5 specs. They include the ability for magazines to be pushed and downloaded in the background, with auto renew subscriptions that are automatically fed into Apple Newsstand.’

‘Although it’s still very early days, the sales data we are seeing is very encouraging. We have seen a 429% increase in magazine sales since the launch of Newsstand. We see this new distribution channel as yet another way of cutting through barriers to reach new consumers who are passionate about niche sport content.’

Factory Media Ltd has been working closely with Apple for over two years, with a mutual commitment to delivering the best content to all Apple iOS5 users.

About Factory Media Ltd.

Factory Media is Europe’s leading action sports media owner. It publishes 27 digital and 19 consumer magazine brands in six languages and serves over four million consumers across the snow, mountain bike, surf, wakeboarding, BMX, windsurfing, skateboard, motocross and cycling markets. It is a fast-growing, pioneering and diverse business dedicated to providing action sports fans with the very best content from around the world. Its digital network, a vast action sports resource headlined by aggregate portal Mpora.com, majors in video content and now, with the launch of Mpora | Gear sports equipment. It is currently utilised by over 6500 other websites around the world. For further information, go to www.factorymedia.com or http://mpora.com/gear.

See the full article here: http://www.thespecialistmediashow.com/content/building-gear-reviews-site-niche-sports-market

Mpora.com, the world’s largest digital Action Sports platform today launches Mpora | Gear to its 4 Million monthly users at Mpora.com/gear.

Mpora | Gear is the first scalable single platform that enables users to find, compare and share tens of thousands of action sports products. The website, part of Mpora.com, includes advanced user reviewing capability and the functionality to compare, and buy directly from, some of the world’s best online retailers.

Mountain Bike and Road Cycling are the first two markets to be featured on Mpora | Gear, however Winter Sports will follow shortly in 2011.

Mpora ‘Experts’ are already in their hundreds – the platform’s loyal following of enthusiasts who are committed to reviewing, testing and discussing the latest products in the market. And more will be joining the project as Independent Retailers and enthusiastic amateurs sign up to become Mpora | Gear reviewers. Alongside this, editorial teams from nineteen of the worlds best action sports magazine brands will be feeding in their own opinions on the latest gear to hit the markets.

The site’s ethos is to present action sports fans with the most comprehensive selection of sports product in the world, and deliver it in an environment that it is easy to use, shareable with their friends, and provides the most useful shopping tool available by gathering professional and amateur reviews to facilitate the best buying experience possible.

Darryl Newton, Managing Director of Factory Media who own Mpora.com stated: ‘Mpora | Gear is a natural development for Factory Media in our strategy of servicing the needs of our audiences and advertisers. The action sports market is driven by a passion for great product to improve their participation and experience, and Mpora fans love talking about the latest and best gear out there as much as they love watching amazing videos.’

ABOUT FACTORY MEDIA

Factory Media is Europe’s leading action sports media owner. It publishes 27 digital and 19 consumer magazine brands in six languages and serves over four million consumers across the snow, mountain bike, surf, wakeboarding, BMX, windsurfing, skateboard, motocross and cycling markets. It is a fast-growing, pioneering and diverse business dedicated to providing action sports fans with the very best content from around the world. Its digital network, a vast action sports resource headlined by aggregate portal Mpora.com, majors in video content and now, with the launch of Mpora | Gear, sports equipment. It is currently utilised by over 6500 other websites around the world. For further information, go to www.factorymedia.com or www.Mpora.com/Gear.

„It robbed some sleep, but it was worth it,“ says editor in chief Oliver Tielsch. „We are all happy and proud to have made this issue come true.“ The crew can be indeed, as the 300 comes also bagged and bundled with a re-print of the very first copy no. 1 from 1982! And: To worship the diversity of skateboarding even more, there are four different covers, fans may chose from or collect them all. Showing Willow, Michael von Fintel, Paco Elles, and Lennie Burmeister, those shots are captured on the four different classic kind of spots; stair-sets, rails, ledges and tranny.

Issue 300 is available now.

Monster Skateboard Magazine is published in German and distributed throughout Europe.

Thursday 17 March 2011

Factory Media Acquires RoadCyclingUK.com and BikeMagic.com

Commercial deal pushes Factory digital bike network to one million fans

London, 17 March 2011: Europe’s largest action sports media owner, Factory Media, today announced the completion of the agreement to acquire RoadCyclingUK.com and BikeMagic.com from Magicalia Limited – the deal will give the media owner an online reach of one million cycling, mountain bike and BMX enthusiasts.

The deal will further strengthen Factory Media’s position in the online bike sector, supplementing brands such as MPORA.com, Dirt Mountain Bike, The Bicycle Buyer and BMX brands RideUK and Dig.

Factory Media Managing Director, Darryl Newton, said: “The acquisition of RoadCyclingUK and BikeMagic has increased Factory Media’s online bike audience to more than one million enthusiasts each month. The network now delivers the broadest reach in the market – more than any other media owner – with our coverage of Road, Gravity, BMX, Cross Country and Urban. We’re very excited about the opportunity that this deal brings to our Company and the teams involved.”

Factory currently own a series of bike media brands including MPORA.com, Dirt Mountain Bike, Ride UK BMX and Dig BMX. Road Cycling UK and Bike Magic will push the Factory bike audience to 1 million unique users. Factory’s MPORA.com is the UK’s largest bike video platform, and streams up to 2 Million videos each month.

About Factory Media:

Factory Media publishes 25 digital and 19 consumer magazine brands in six languages across the mountain bike, cycle, BMX, surf, snow, ski, windsurf, skateboard and motocross markets. Its digital network, a vast sports resource headlined by aggregate portal MPORA.com, majors in video content, product reviews, news and social media functionality. For more information about Factory Media, go to factorymedia.com and MPORA.com, or contact Darryl Newton, Managing Director on 020 7332 9700.

<<< ends >>