The Body Issue
Best-selling of six alternative covers of ESPN The Magazine's original Body Issue in 2009 featuring Serena Williams
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| Frequency | Yearly |
|---|---|
| First issue | October 9, 2009 |
| Company | ESPN |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Website | ESPN The Magazine |
The Body Issue is an edition of ESPN The Magazine that features dozens of athletes in nude and semi-nude photographs, which is intended to rival the annual Swimsuit Issue from Sports Illustrated. The first issue debuted on October 9, 2009. The issue was a response to the decline in advertising spending resulting from the financial crisis of 2007–2010 and late-2000s recession that saw a 24 percent decline in ad revenues for the first six months of 2009 compared to the same six-month period in 2008.
The 2009 edition had six alternative covers featuring Serena Williams (tennis), Carl Edwards (NASCAR), Adrian Peterson (NFL), Dwight Howard (NBA), Gina Carano (mixed martial arts) and Sarah Reinertsen (triathlons). The Serena Williams edition sold the most copies. The 2009 issue was a financial success, achieving double the normal edition sales, greater sales than any bi-weekly issue in over two years and 35 percent more ad sales than comparable issues, which led to plans for extended marketing of the 2010 edition.
The edition included the regular sports coverage. In the bodies section athletes were featured on and off the field. Even a picture during a knee surgery was included. The "Bodies We Want" section was a feature of the best bodies in the world of sports all posed nude but with strategic coverage of private parts. Another section showed the damage done to the human body in athletics such as Laird Hamilton's cracked heel and Torry Holt's crooked middle finger. One action photo captured six members of Major League Soccer's D.C. United simulating a free kick defensive wall while covering their genitalia.
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