US publisher to take on UK celebrity and fitness titles…

Four US monthly magazine titles are to launch in the UK, covering the celebrity and men’s health and fitness sectors.

US-based publisher Fanzine International, owned by multi-media company Metro Global Media, is launching Celebrity Style, Teen Celebrity, Gym, and Burn in a staggered roll out between the end of this month and February.

Celebrity Style launches on November 27 with a cover price of 1.95. The title is a monthly magazine aimed at women aged 25-44 and looks at the fashion of the rich and famous.

It will be displayed with monthly titles Company and New Woman, rather than the weekly celebrity magazines Hello!, OK! and National Enquirer.

Monthly magazine Teen Cele-brity is due out on December 11, priced 1.95. It targets ten- to 14-year-olds and will compete against TV Hits, Smash Hits, My Guy, B and Sugar.

The two men’s health and fitness titles are bi-monthly and both cost 2.95. Gym is due out on January 15 and focuses on a lifestyle approach to health, while Burn, due out on February 12, takes a more serious approach to exercise.

The magazines will be distributed by MarketForce, part of the IPC Magazines Group. They will be supported in-store, but there are no plans to advertise them.

MarketForce new business manager Scott Goward says the magazines will have UK covers and UK-amended editorial.