National Geographic Magazine was first published in 1888. 135 years ago. It's an American institution as much as the Smithsonian or Yellowstone National Park. Disney could absolutely afford to run it at a loss just to keep that institution alive, but profit above all in this world.
I realize the magazine was already a shadow of what it once was, but even a shadow is better than nothing.
We've entered a new era where the few consolidated media companies left in the world will make anything not profitable, like science communication, go away.