Coastal Angler Magazine

What Coastal Angler Magazine does

Coastal Angler Magazine, operating through its legal entity Coastal Angler Magazine Franchising Inc., is a privately held niche publishing company headquartered in Melbourne, Florida. Founded in 1995 in Brevard County, the company produces monthly print and digital magazines focused on recreational fishing, boating, and outdoor activities in coastal and freshwater markets. Its product portfolio includes the flagship Coastal Angler Magazine (saltwater/coastal), the companion The Angler Magazine (freshwater/interior), free e-magazine digital editions, and The Angler Video Magazine for video content. The company's stated distribution footprint spans 11,000+ marine-specific businesses, retail outlets, and big box stores, reaching over 1 million print readers per month, with an additional global digital audience via coastalanglermag.com.

The company generates revenue through two primary streams: advertising sales across regional print and digital editions, and franchise fees collected from independent regional publishers who operate local editions under the Coastal Angler brand. The franchise model, introduced in 2008, enables rapid geographic expansion while preserving local content relevance; it now spans 22 U.S. states and international markets including the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The underlying technology is a standard digital publishing and content management platform supporting the website, e-magazine delivery, and regional edition management; no proprietary AI/ML, API, or SDK capabilities are disclosed.

The magazine is free to readers in both print and digital formats, with a freemium pricing approach that monetizes through advertisers and franchise partners rather than end-user subscriptions. Go-to-market operates on three axes: (1) a franchise recruitment channel targeting mid-market regional publishers, (2) advertising sales across marine and outdoor brands at both local and national levels, and (3) organic audience development through website content, social media, email newsletters, and user-generated content features such as the Bragboard community. Leadership consists of CEO Ben Martin and founder John Radkins. The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional investors, parent company, or M&A history.

Name

Coastal Angler Magazine

Legal name

Coastal Angler Magazine Franchising Inc.

Website

https://coastalanglermag.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Coastal Angler Magazine is a Florida-based niche publishing company that produces free monthly print and digital magazines on recreational fishing, boating, and outdoor activities across 22 U.S. states and international markets, monetizing through regional advertising sales and a franchise network of independent regional publishers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recreational Fishing Publications

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Travel & Outdoors Magazines (MPAJAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sports & Recreation Magazines (MPAJAEAJ)

Keywords

• Fishing magazine publishing
• Outdoor recreation media
• Marine consumer content
• Boating enthusiast publications
• Angler print publications

Headquarters

HQ city

Cocoa Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Print and Digital Advertising: The magazine generates revenue primarily through advertising sales. Businesses can advertise in print editions distributed at marine businesses and retail outlets, as well as on the website and digital editions.
2. Franchise Fees: Coastal Angler Magazine operates as a franchise business, collecting franchise fees from local publishers who produce regional editions. The franchise was established in 2008 and now operates in 22 states.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Coastal Angler Magazine publishes free monthly print and digital magazines covering saltwater/coastal fishing (Coastal Angler) and freshwater/interior fishing (The Angler), plus a video magazine and e-magazine digital editions. Content includes fishing techniques, destination guides, tournament coverage, gear reviews, and local fishing reports, distributed through over 11,000 marine businesses and retail outlets and online via its website to 1+ million monthly print readers. The company also licenses its brand to regional publishers through a franchise program established in 2008 across 22 U.S. states.

Product overview

Coastal Angler Magazine operates as a multi-platform outdoor media company offering print and digital publications focused on fishing and boating. The core product portfolio consists of Coastal Angler Magazine (saltwater/coastal edition) and The Angler Magazine (freshwater/interior edition), both available as monthly print publications (with over 1 million combined print readers) and free e-magazine digital editions. The company also produces The Angler Video Magazine as a video content companion. Additionally, the company operates a franchise model (established 2008) enabling local publishers to operate regional editions, providing protected territories and the proven business system.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Angler Magazine: The interior (freshwater) companion publication to Coastal Angler Magazine, dedicated to freshwater fishing enthusiasts.

Products and services

• Coastal Angler Magazine Monthly coastal/saltwater fishing and outdoor recreation publication covering fishing techniques, destination guides, tournament coverage, gear reviews, and local fishing reports; distributed free in print at 11,000+ marine businesses and retail outlets across 22 U.S. states and internationally, with digital editions on the company website.
• The Angler Magazine Freshwater/interior fishing magazine companion to Coastal Angler Magazine, covering bass fishing, freshwater techniques, and inland waterway recreation; available in print and digital editions through the company's national franchise network.
• E-Magazine (Digital Editions) Free digital versions of Coastal Angler Magazine and The Angler Magazine issues available online through the company website for electronic reading.
• The Angler Video Magazine Video-format content companion to the magazines, featuring marine product reviews, fishing technique videos, and outdoor recreation footage.
• Coastal Angler Magazine Franchise Program Franchise opportunity licensing local publishers to operate regional editions of Coastal Angler Magazine and The Angler Magazine, including a protected territory, training system, and access to the brand and business model. Currently operates in 22 U.S. states and international markets.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Salt Water Sportsman Magazine: Salt Water Sportsman is a long-running saltwater fishing and boating magazine with a similar coastal angler audience and print-plus-digital publishing model, making it a close direct competitor to Coastal Angler's core saltwater edition.
• Florida Sportsman Magazine: Florida Sportsman is a regional fishing and boating publication covering inshore, offshore, and freshwater in Florida and the Southeast, overlapping directly with Coastal Angler's regional editions and saltwater/freshwater content portfolio.
• Sport Fishing Magazine: Sport Fishing targets offshore and big-game saltwater anglers with print and digital editorial, gear reviews, and destination features, making it a directly comparable peer to Coastal Angler in the saltwater sportfishing media category.
• Bassmaster Magazine: Bassmaster is the leading U.S. freshwater bass fishing media brand with print, digital, and tournament properties, directly comparable to Coastal Angler's The Angler Magazine freshwater edition and its advertiser-funded tournament coverage.
• In-Fisherman Magazine: In-Fisherman covers freshwater fishing species and techniques across North America with a print and online presence, directly comparable to The Angler Magazine and Coastal Angler's freshwater/interior content lines.
• The Fisherman Magazine: The Fisherman is a Northeast-focused saltwater and freshwater fishing publication with regional editions and a long history, comparable to Coastal Angler's regional franchise model and coastal/saltwater editorial mix.
• Marlin Magazine: Marlin is a saltwater big-game sportfishing magazine with print and digital editions serving offshore anglers, comparable to Coastal Angler's saltwater audience and editorial mix around offshore fishing, boats, and gear.

Broad incumbents

• Field & Stream: Field & Stream is a large, established outdoor recreation publication covering hunting, fishing, and broader outdoors content; it overlaps with Coastal Angler on fishing editorial and advertiser audiences but is a broader incumbent rather than a fishing-only specialist.
• Outdoor Life: Outdoor Life is a long-running general outdoor recreation title covering fishing, hunting, and adventure, with a print and digital presence that overlaps Coastal Angler's audience and advertiser base while serving a broader set of outdoor verticals.
• Outdoor Sportsman Group (KSE Sportsman Group): Outdoor Sportsman Group (KSE) is a large media company publishing multiple fishing, hunting, and outdoors titles (e.g., Game & Fish publications), making it a broad incumbent in the same outdoor recreation media space where Coastal Angler operates with its franchise system.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/camtamagazine
• Facebookfacebook.com/camtamagazine
• Instagraminstagram.com/camtamagazine
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coastal-angler-magazine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Coastal Angler Magazine