Jamie Oliver suffers another setback
Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is pulling the plug on his Jamie food magazine nearly 10 years after it started.
It is the third blow to Oliver’s empire this year after he was forced to shut some of his Jamie's Italian restaurants and then close down his Union Jacks pizza chain.
Circulation of Jamie magazine in the UK has also plummeted from more than 75,000 in 2009 to just 47,000 this year.
Industry insider believe the magazine, which began in 2008, was failing to attract enough advertisers to make it profitable. The wide availability of recipes on the internet has also led to a fall in sales.
In January the 42-year-old closed six of his 42 Jamie's Italian restaurants across the UK, blaming tough conditions and rising Brexit cost pressures.
Two months later Oliver shut the last of his four Union Jacks pizza restaurants, which launched in 2011.
A spokesman for magazine group Hearst, which publishes Jamie magazine, said: “After careful consideration, the Jamie Oliver Group has taken the decision to close Jamie magazine to focus on serving its audience needs via digital platforms.
“We will work closely with the Jamie team to ensure we deliver a well-managed closure process.”
A spokesperson for Jamie Oliver Group said: “We are incredibly proud of Jamie Magazine, which won International Consumer Media Brand of the Year in 2015, and our hugely talented editorial staff.
“We've conducted extensive research into our audience needs and while Jamie's books are more popular than ever - 5 Ingredients Quick & Easy Food is the fastest selling Jamie book - our audience is increasingly also looking to digital platforms to find content.
“This behaviour shift presents a continued opportunity to develop exciting and innovative ways to deliver trusted food content to our engaged audience, at scale.
“With thousands of recipes now available online, jamieoliver.com takes the essence of the magazine - tried and tested recipes that always work, together with full nutritional information to help our audience make better food choices.:
The announcement comes after Jamie was involved in a war of words with fellow celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.