BSkyB is to close two of the country's largest customer titles and dramatically slash the frequency of Sky Magazine, the UK's largest circulating monthly.

Sky Sports Magazine and Sky Movies Magazine - which are published every two months and have a combined circulation of nearly eight million copies – are the titles which have been axed by the broadcaster. Both launched in January 2007 to target more specific audiences than the pay-TV provider’s sole offering, Sky Magazine.

Sky is also planning to reduce the distribution of its flagship Sky Magazine, which has an average circulation of 7.3 million copies, and reduce frequency from 12 issues per year to four. The three magazines have the biggest per-issue circulation in the UK, ahead of other free titles for Asda and Tesco and paid-for TV listings magazines.

Sky intends to replace the lost print issue in August with a new weekly email, which will provide programme highlights and links to the latest Sky content currently found in the print title. This move towards greater online content is likely a direct result of increasing magazine production costs. Furthermore, paper prices have risen and Royal Mail has just secured approval to raise its bulk mail prices this year – inciting protests from the Professional Publishers Association - the magazine industry body.

A Sky source called the move a "more efficient way to stay in touch with Sky homes", and said digital communications "offers more immediacy, engagement and interaction".

MEC opinion: At first glance, Sky’s move to close two of the country's largest customer titles appears quite surprising - particularly the decision to switch Sky Magazine (the highest circulating magazine in the UK) to a quarterly title. Consumer magazines have had a tough time in the last couple of years, with a large number of magazines having declining circulations as well as increasing production costs.

However, the move comes at a time that suggests it could be directly related to Royal Mail’s recent approval to raise the amount it can charge for bulk mail. Here at MEC, this is something we’ll be monitoring closely as the increases will certainly have serious implications for magazine publishers, as well as magazine subscribers.