In a sad move for all those iPad-loving gourmands in the world, Condé Nast announced today that it would shutter Gourmet Live, the digital version of the magazine they killed due to budget issues and the then-ongoing Print Media Plague of 2009.
Apparently, iPad magazines were hardly immune to the struggles of a magazine: though it was one of the most popular apps when it launched, Gourmet Live began experiencing a decline in readers as time went on, reports The New York Post. While the app will still remain available on iTunes, it will no longer be updated. Says a representative about the brand’s future:
“Gourmet Live, while the absolute right move for its time, no longer helps fuel the brand’s evolution as the growth around the brand’s Web presence on Gourmet.com has greatly exceeded that of the Gourmet Live app. Subsequently, we have made a decision to continue to publish content to the Gourmet.com website, which has become a popular destination for both longtime and new brand loyalists.”
Eater notes that Gourmet Live’s had branding issues from its initial launch, including the add-on of some very confusing social media-y features (why would one need games in a cooking app?), and at many points, failed to live up to the standards set by the 90-year-old brand. Thankfully (and surprisingly), no layoffs accompanied Gourmet Live’s closure, and we’re assuming that those staffers, too, are moving to their non-revolutionary platform on the boring old Internet.
[New York Post via Eater]
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