Virgin Media will be trying something new in October when it teams up with publishing company Seven Squared to launch its first magazine, Maverick. However, it's moving ahead of its print competitors already, by opting to go electronic rather than create a dead tree version. The first version will be iPad-only, with iPhone and Android versions to follow. Previously Virgin has outsourced any consumer magazine publications, including Electric!, a promotional publication for Virgin.
Maverick will cover "entrepreneurial endeavors, and highlight new creative business, travel and technology ideas, targeting an upscale international audience." The company has noted that the magazine is not intended as a promotional tool for Virgin, but is to act as its own entity. The new venture will have 28-year-old Holly Branson, daughter of Virgin founder RIchard Branson overseeing it. Branson left a medical career two years ago in order to pursue work with her father.
Virgin is excited about their new project. One executive said, “More than eight million people will own iPads by the end of the year. It’s the fastest-selling gadget ever and it’s the most exciting thing to happen to the magazine market in a long time, but no one has yet got it right.”
The magazine's editor will be former FHM editor Anthony Noguera. If Maverick is successful, the company intends that other digital-only publications will follow.
