Playboy to end publishing fully nude female photos

In this Nov. 15, 2007 photo, Hugh Hefner smiles while signing copies of the Playboy calendar and Playboy Cover To Cover: The 50’s DVD box set in Los Angeles. AP

NEW YORK — Playboy will no longer publish photos of nude women as part of a redesign of the decades-old magazine, according to a news report Monday.

Executives for the magazine company told The New York Times that the change will take place in March 2016.

The paper reported that the print edition of Playboy will still feature women in provocative poses, but they will no longer be fully nude.

Playboy editor Cory Jones contacted founder and current editor in chief Hugh Hefner recently about dropping nude photos from the print edition and he agreed, the Times reported.

The change represents a major shift for the magazine, which broke new ground when Hefner created it and featured Marilyn Monroe on its debut cover in 1953.

But officials acknowledge that Playboy has been witnessing widespread changes. “You’re now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free. And so it’s just passé at this juncture,” said Scott Flanders, the company’s chief executive.

The Times reported that playboy’s print circulation, once measured in millions, is now about 800,000, according to Alliance for Audited Media.

The move marks the latest step away from depictions of full nudity, which were banned from the magazine’s website last August.

Previous efforts to revamp Playboy have never quite stuck. But this time, as the magazine seeks to compete with younger outlets, Flanders said it sought to answer a key question: “if you take nudity out, what’s left?”