Cosmopolitan Australia has closed… again. Less than two years after the iconic mag was relaunched in Australia, the outlet quietly closed over Christmas, with staff being told just last week. And while sentiment is sad, it’s not one of surprise. “I’m mostly surprised that it hadn’t happened sooner,” one insider told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
Previously closed by Bauer Media Australia in 2018 after 45 years, Cosmopolitan was relaunched in 2024 by local publisher Katarina Kroslakova via her company, KK Press.
“I think with the right money behind it, and the right team, and a really targeted approach, I think it could have thrived,” the insider said. “But there was no proper team. There were mostly contributors.”
They added: “Structurally, I didn’t think it was set up for success.”
Cosmo‘s first issue back featured Tones And I on the cover, with a bevy of big names inside the pages, including celebrity sexologist Chantelle Otten in the iconic sealed section and model Sarah Ellen sharing her creative friendships.
However, later covers relied on lifted shoots and interviews from international editions, including a Margaret Qualley cover and interview that went viral for Cosmopolitan US two months earlier.
“I don’t think the advertiser market was there to start with, so then you have to deliver a really solid product,” the insider said. “And the product cannot be ripped with the international version because then you can get that anywhere. Why would you pay for outdated US or UK content two months later?”
The Daily Mail, which first broke the story of Cosmo‘s closure, also reported pay disputes with writers for the magazine, but that these were ultimately resolved.
Cosmopolitan Australia didn’t announce its closure on Instagram, but when users try to access the website, it redirects to the US site. A message reads:
“Our time working with KK Press has come to a close, but our commitment to Australia hasn’t changed. Since 1965, Cosmopolitan has been a trusted guide on love, relationships, style, and pop culture, helping readers discover who they are and what they love.
“As we work to find a new partner, you can continue to enjoy Cosmopolitan’s US content — with the same trusted voice and cultural perspective — and we look forward to sharing what’s next.”
In a statement to P.TV, Kroslakova conceded that poor advertising revenue meant the mag was no longer sustainable long-term.
“We have ceased publishing Cosmopolitan Magazine in Australia and will continue to focus on creating premium lifestyle content and expanding our custom publishing division. While the team produced high-quality content and strong readership, advertising support for this brand did not reach the level required for long-term commercial sustainability,” she said.
“This decision reflects the growing opportunity in premium and custom publishing, where brands are increasingly investing in deeper, more meaningful audience engagement. We are well-positioned to capitalise on this momentum and drive growth in 2026.”
P.TV understands that no Cosmopolitan staff have lost their jobs. KK Press also publishes the local edition of T, the New York Times‘ Style Magazine, in addition to boutique titles.
The most recently available readership data, from Roy Morgan, shows that Cosmo had increased its magazine readership by 24.8 per cent in the 12 months to September 2025, reaching an average of 141,000 readers. However, it’s less than the 160,000 readership across Australia and New Zealand when the mag closed in 2018. At the time, then Bauer CEO Paul Dykzeul said the “commercial viability of the magazine in Australia [was] no longer sustainable”.
The insider said Cosmo‘s re-closure points to the grim reality of the magazine industry in Australia, in stark contrast to an optimistic industry view that ‘mags are back‘.
“As much as anyone who loves media and loves the magazine industry would love to say that magazines are back, it’s just not the case,” they said. “We know numbers are down, we know advertising is such a hard market. I think it was ambitious to relaunch the product into Australia when it has been closed before because it wasn’t viable.”
Lead image: Cosmopolitan / PEDESTRIAN.TV.
The post ‘Surprised It Didn’t Happen Sooner’: Cosmo Australia Shuts Two Years After Relaunch appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
