Playboy drops nudes to expand readership

The racy magazine announced that by next year, its models will be clothed, and though poses will still be provocative, its pages will be more modern and demure—at least, for a brand like Playboy.

It’s not the first time the company has taken a more reserved route.

In August 2014, the publication removed nudity on its website, and Playboy said the change made its Web traffic jump from 4 million monthly users to 16 million. The average age of Playboy’s readers dropped from 47 to roughly 30. In May, the company released a safe-for-work app that contains only the articles.

Scott Flanders, Playboy’s chief exec, told The New York Times that “the battle [to make sexually explicit material accessible] has been fought and won.”

“You’re now one click away from every sex act imaginable for free,” Flanders said, “and so it’s just passé at this juncture.”