News Magazines will cease publishing Alpha in June following a fall in circulation.
The publisher has claimed that the closure relates to a restructure of its specialist division. In a new licensing agreement, Express Publications will now publish the majority of News Magazines' specialist titles, including Modern Fishing, Modern Boating, Tattoo and others.
The most recent Roy Morgan figures for December 2010 saw Alpha's readership jump 7.2% year on year, from 208,000 to 223,000. However, the same period saw an 11.07% drop in circulation, from 73,118 to 65,023.
News Magazines' chief executive officer Sandra Hook said: "Closing a title is never an easy decision. The Alpha team has worked consistently and diligently in an extremely competitive and fragmented environment. Throughout its publication, Alpha has maintained solid rapport with its loyal and passionate sports-loving readers and advertisers."
The closing of the title is another blow for the male-oriented magazine market. Last year, ACP shut down Ralph magazine due to falling circulation.
Hook said the restructure of the specialist division "will allow us to more strongly focus on News Magazines' multi-platform offerings across our core pillars of food, lifestyle, health, fashion and our powerful newspaper magazine business."
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