According to Business of Fashion, Oprah Winfrey’s monthly magazine will stop printing after the December 2020 issue.

“As the brand celebrates twenty years of O, The Oprah Magazine, we’re thinking about what’s next, but again the partnership and the brand are not going away,” Hearst said in a statement Monday, confirming a Business of Fashion report from July 24. “This is a natural next step for the brand, which has grown to an online audience of 8 million, extending its voice and vision with video and social content. We will continue to invest in this platform as the brand grows and evolves into one that is more digitally-centric.”

‘I’m proud of this team and what we have delivered to our readers over the past 20 years. I look forward to the next step in our evolution,’ Oprah said in a statement shared by THR.

Hearst declined to comment on why the normal print edition was being phased out, stating simply that it was a “natural next step” for the company.

The decision was announced to the employees of O: The Oprah Magazine, which was created by Winfrey and Hearst Communications on Friday.

‘Twenty years ago, O, The Oprah Magazine launched as a personal growth guide to help women live their best lives,’ said Lucy Kaylin, editor-in-chief of O, The Oprah Magazine.

‘As we embark on this next chapter, we will lean into moments that are central to the brand’s DNA and deepen the connection with our loyal readers.’

Hearst Magazines’ chief business officer, Kristen O’Hara, added, “We are honored to be working with Oprah and her team to reimagine the future.”

A quarterly edition, special editions, or higher-priced newstand versions of the magazine might still exist.

Magazine publishers have had a difficult time in the previous two decades. As readers and advertisers went online, they, like newspapers, were forced to wean themselves from print advertising, which had sustained them for decades. The coronavirus epidemic, according to ZenithOptimedia and other ad market observers, is compounding the loss of print advertising. According to ZenithOptimedia, magazine ad expenditure is likely to drop 20% this year.

The first issue of O was released on April 19, 2000, and it now has a paid circulation of 2.2 million copies and a print readership of ten million people.

As print advertising decreases and people spend more time online, magazines have been attempting to expand their digital businesses.

One insider remarked, “It was very strong on the newsstand when people actually went to the newsstand to buy magazines.”

The economic repercussions from the coronavirus epidemic has harmed print advertising sales even more, with research company Magna forecasting a 23 percent decline in national magazine sales in the United States this year.

O is a collaboration between Hearst and Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions. The publication was highly successful in its early years, according to the Post, selling over 1 million copies on newsstands. However, unlike other publications, considerably fewer people buy editions of O in shops, which is a big source of revenue for publishers. As of December 31, 2019, O had 228,989 single-copy sales, according to the Alliance for Audited Media.

The news of the renowned women’s magazine’s demise follows criticism of Hearst Magazines, which produces titles such as Good Housekeeping, Harper’s Bazaar, and Elle, among others. Employees described the company’s toxic environment, as well as sexually inappropriate statements made by former president Troy Young, who resigned on Thursday, in a recent story by The New York Times.