Goodbye, ‘Time Out.’ Hello, ‘Time In.’

Photo: Time Out, via Groupon

For the 1st time in its 52-year history, Time Out — the events magazine with popular editions in New York and London — is looking within.

Many moons ago (OK, a few weeks ago), Time Out was a hub for concerts, art festivals, bar openings, and restaurant deals. But as COVID-19 kneecaps the events economy, Time Out is rebranding as Time In, according to a red strikethrough on its homepage. 

Now Time In is posting about “the best things to do at home right now,” the NYC restaurants “offering care packages with games and toilet paper,” and a Social diStitching embroidery mixer hosted on Instagram Live.

Tons of publications are homing in on a new business model  

Most of the traffic to Eater NY comes from its restaurant-mapping feature — which is not exactly in high demand at the moment. To stay afloat, the digital food magazine launched Eater at Home, a new section with tips on making sourdough, cooking with miscellaneous pantry items, and organizing your freezer. 

They’re not the only ones suddenly housebound: 

• The travel website Culture Trip is launching a #StayHomeStayCurious section that offers tips on how to “experience” cities like Prague, Seoul, and Tokyo by streaming museums and cooking dishes from your home.
• Lonely Planet is recommending books to “get you dreaming of European travel” in the hope that at some point, in the distant future, people travel again.
• Even the beloved Test Kitchen video stars from the magazine Bon Appétit are pivoting to home cooking.