Penthouse ends magazine after 50 years, goes digital

Parent company FriendFinder Networks Inc. said the magazine will henceforth be released in online-only format and that subscriptions would be converted to digital.

"This will be a new way for its readers to experience the world's best adult magazine," said FriendFinder chief executive Jonathan Buckheit in a statement.

"Reimagined for the preferred consumption of content today by consumers, the digital version of Penthouse Magazine will combine and convert everything readers know and love about the print magazine experience to the power of a digital experience -- giving people an open-ended reading experience, available anytime, anywhere."

The magazine division, which operated out of New York, will move to the company's Los Angeles-based office.

Besides publishing Penthouse, FriendFinder Networks operates a number of adult-oriented social networking sites including AdultFriendFinder.com, Amigos.com, AsiaFriendFinder.com and SeniorFriendFinder.com.

The group filed for bankruptcy protection in 2013.

Bob Guccione began publication of Penthouse in Britain in 1965 and four years later in the United States, earning him a fortune estimated at $400 million at one point with a more explicit alternative to Hugh Hefner's Playboy.

But as the Internet became dominant in porn, Penthouse publisher General Media Inc., which was 85 percent owned by Guccione, filed for bankruptcy in 2003, which led to its acquisition by FriendFinder Networks.

Guccione died in 2010 after a battle with cancer.

Playboy last year said it will stop publishing nude photos in its iconic magazine, throwing in the towel in the face of rampant online pornography.