Ad pages fall 6.4 percent over the first quarter
By Susan Catto Apr 16, 2008
If there were any doubts that the ad economy had slipped into recession, the latest data on magazine ad pages clears them up.
Consumer magazine ad pages were down 6.4 percent over the first three months of 2008, to 49,166.86, reports the Publishers Information Bureau, in what looks like the worst three-month decline since the ad recession in the early part of the decade. Total spending was down as well, by 1.2 percent, to $5,235,231,377, based on magazine rate cards before discounting.
Of the 24 magazine categories tracked by Media Life, all but three--fashion, entertainment and women's service--reported declines, and seven saw declines in the double digits. In a typical reporting period, half the categories will show declines.
Magazines are being hurt by a confluence of forces, and certainly leading is the ad slowdown, which had led many forecasters to cut back spending estimates for this year and beyond.
But publishers are also feeling increased competition from other media, and not just the internet, which continues to see surging growth. The growing number of vertical cable networks represents increasing competition for magazines in their ability to target by demographics and interests.
The magazines faring best against these forces are the glossy fashion titles, insulated as they are by the sort of arresting graphics and aspirational feel that cannot be imitated on the internet.
Of the six fashion titles tracked by Media Life, four showed gains: Harper’s Bazaar was up 6.4 percent in pages, Elle 5.7 percent, Vogue 5.6 percent and Lucky 3.7 percent. The category was up 2.5 percent (See charts, below).
Entertainment magazines were up 2.7 percent for the quarter, led by OK!, the British import and the newest in the category, with pages up 37.9 percent. In Touch was up 18.6 percent and sister publication Life & Style saw an 18 percent increase, while Star was up 14.7 percent. TV Guide was up 10.9 percent. Declining were Entertainment Weekly, off 20.7 percent, and Us, off 8.5 percent.
Among other strong gainers for the three-month period were Women’s Health, which was up 50.8 percent in pages over first-quarter 2007, Every Day with Rachael Ray, up 38.1 in pages, and Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food, up 10.8 percent.
But what's most notable about the first quarter data is the number of magazines and categories that were down. Personal finance titles were down 10 percent, with all five titles showing declines. Business magazines fell 13.7 percent, with eight of the nine titles declining. Only Fast Company was up, reporting a 29 percent gain in pages.
Among the newsweeklies, all but one were off, with the category down 13.7 percent. The one gainer, the Economist, was up 5.3 percent.
The worst decline was reported by U.S. News and World Report, where ad pages were down 37.5 percent. As much as anything that reflects a drop in the number of issues published over the 14 weeks, just 10, of which four were double-issues.
