The New York Times reports that Playboy Enterprises has taken another financial dump with another losing quarter. Christie Hefner, Playboy's current CEO, states the loss is due to "'the dual challenges of structural transformation in our traditional media business and a difficult U.S. economy,' while also citing 'unprecedented changes in the way consumers access and use media content.'"
And by "unprecedented changes in the way consumers access and use media content," she means: "Everyone's looking at porn on the internet now. Oops. I guess we really fucked up." Gee, Christie, you think?
I worked for Playboy TV from 1998 to 2003. I was, shamefully, a reporter on a show called "Sexcetera" that was like "60 Minutes" on Viagra. (Wow. The thought of Morley Safer on a little blue pill is a scary thought. Isn't it?) At the time, the story inside the bunny machine was that Playboy TV, which is basically porn, was carrying Playboy financially. Hef hates porn--his enterprise was built on the premise Playboy is everything porn is not--so he hated Playboy TV, even though that's what was keeping him in red satin robes.
As the Times states near the end, burying its lede once again: "Although Playboy Enterprises owns some cable channels that show X-rated material, like Hot Network, Hot Zone and Vivid TV, those are not presented as Playboy brands (though they do turn a profit)."
In recent years, Christie, a self-described feminist, has tried to drag her father into the future, seeking to compete with the World Wide Web of smut, buying up properties like ClubJenna in 2006.
Now, of course, it's far too little too late for Playboy.
(Also? I went to the Playboy Mansion three times. It was awesome.)
