ESPN The Magazine to stop print edition in September

BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — ESPN The Magazine is ending its print edition in September after 21 years.

The magazine launched in March 1988 and was a competitor to Sports Illustrated. ESPN says in a statement that the types of stories the magazine had run will be produced for online distribution.

“Consumer habits are evolving rapidly, and this requires ESPN to evolve as well,” the company said Tuesday. “The only change here is that we are moving away from printing it on paper and sending it in the mail, following September’s release of The Body Issue. Our data shows the vast majority of readers already consume our print journalism on digital platforms.”

ESPN says it will explore future special editions in print.