It has been speculated in the motorcycle community for quite some time now, and the day has finally come, as the Bonnier Motorcycle Group (BMG) announced today that it is ceasing production of Sport Rider Magazine.
The news about Sport Rider comes wedged into a larger announcement, which involves BMG restructuring its motorcycle publishing and sales departments “in order to deliver more specialized content and provide better solutions for the motorcycle industry to engage with enthusiasts.”
There is a lot to be said with how Bonnier is “restructuring” media, marketing, and editorial amongst its brands – perhaps better left for an article of its own – but the big shock today is how the closure of Sport Rider ends a 25-year tradition of covering the sport bike market in the United States.
It is not clear at this time what the news means for Sport Rider’s masthead, whether they will find homes at Bonnier’s other motorcycle magazine titles or not, though BMG’s announcement does suggest that a number of employees at Bonnier will be without a job once this restructuring plan has been completed.
The changes surely come because of how the media landscape, especially the motorcycle media landscape is rapidly evolving, not only as we transition from print to online, but also as we handle the continuously blurring lines between readers, advertisers, and influencers.
As the fortune cookies says: may you live in interesting times.
Source: Bonnier
