medialifemagazine.com
Grim end to a bad year for magazines
By Louisa Ada Seltzer
Jan 14, 2009 - 7:31:38 AM
If 2008 doesn't go down as the worst year in the history of American magazine publishing, it's likely to run a close second.
With fourth-quarter numbers now in, the year finished down 11.7 percent in total ad pages as compared to 2007, to 220,813, and the last three months of the year were particularly brutal, with pages declining 17.1 percent, according to the Publishers Information Bureau.
Certainly some of that steep fourth-quarter drop related directly to the meltdown of the U.S. economy, whose impact swept across all areas of business. With each day bringing new shocks to the system, a lot of marketers simply suspended ad programs as they tried to anticipate what new financial calamity was about to befall the nation.
But that's only part of it.
Much of fourth-quarter magazine spending was booked well before the meltdown, and by then it was already a bad year for print titles. Besides the down economy, magazines were seeing more and more ad dollars being shifted to new forms of media, led by the internet.
The worsening economy only seemed to speed up the process as advertisers looked for more efficient ways to spend fewer ad dollars. Indeed, third-quarter ad pages were down 12.9 percent, and the pace of the decline was clearly accelerating.
In the last three months of the year, all 12 ad spending categories tracked by PIB showed dramatic declines, 10 of them in the double digits. The steepest declines were in automotive spending, which fell 25.8 percent for the quarter, to 3,814.14 pages, as Detroit's Big Three all found themselves facing bankruptcy with the plummeting of new car sales through the year.
Based on rate cards before discounting, automotive spending in dollars fell to $439,748,768 for the period, from $561,307,404 for the year-earlier period. Some $120 million in automotive ad dollars disappeared from magazines for those three months. Once the top spending category, automotive had slipped to No. 8.
Also seeing steep declines was drugs and remedies, now the No. 3 category. Over recent years, the category had increased spending, and the effect was to counteract declines in automotive. Then this year the major drug makers began cutting as well, and suddenly that cushion was gone. Over the fourth quarter spending fell 19.3 percent.
Neither drugs nor automotive is expected to boost spending in 2009.
Other big decliners for the quarter were retail, the No. 4 category, off 16.1 percent, and food, off 17.6 percent, financial, 36.5 percent, and home furnishings, down 22.8 percent.
The two categories to finish the quarter with single-digit declines were toiletries and cosmetics, down 8 percent, and media and advertising, down 7.2 percent.
For the year, magazine ad spending in terms of dollars was down 7.8 percent, to $23,652,018,533, according to PIB, based on rate-card pricing before discounting.
Among 23 categories of magazines tracked by Media Life, all showed declines in pages for full-year 2008, many of those in the double digits.
Only a handful of titles saw page gains for the year. The Economist was up 4.4 percent, Fast Company increased its pages 23.9 percent, and Technology Review was up 21.5 percent. OK! was up 23 percent and Elle was up 5 percent, while House Beautiful saw its pages grow 7.1 percent.
|
Automotive
2008 vs. 2007 |
|
Titles |
2008
$s |
2007 $s |
%
chnge |
'08
pages |
'07
pages |
%
chnge |
|
AUTOMOBILE MAGAZINE
|
73,024,510
|
79,604,656
|
-8.3
|
799.42
|
922.58
|
-13.3
|
|
AUTOWEEK
|
40,055,050
|
42,938,529
|
-6.7
|
1,157.26
|
1,262.80
|
-8.4
|
|
CAR AND DRIVER
|
204,744,583
|
219,934,948
|
-6.9
|
1,031.03
|
1,162.25
|
-11.3
|
|
HOT ROD
|
63,552,017
|
68,991,613
|
-7.9
|
638.16
|
738.02
|
-13.5
|
|
MOTOR TREND
|
170,285,622
|
181,343,379
|
-6.1
|
1,097.73
|
1,242.92
|
-11.7
|
|
ROAD & TRACK
|
126,185,293
|
132,660,929
|
-4.9
|
1,086.33
|
1,196.52
|
-9.2
|
|
TOTALS
|
677,847,075
|
725,474,054
|
-6.6
|
5,809.93
|
6,525.09
|
-11.0
|
|
Source: PIB |
|
Entertainment/Celebrity
2008 vs. 2007 |
|
Titles |
2008
$s |
2007 $s |
%
chnge |
'08
pages |
'07
pages |
%
chnge |
|
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
|
192,047,592
|
230,317,855
|
-16.6
|
1,215.39
|
1,527.06
|
-20.4
|
|
IN TOUCH WEEKLY
|
136,093,942
|
140,189,330
|
-2.9
|
1,094.19
|
1,065.12
|
2.7
|
|
LIFE & STYLE WEEKLY
|
32,518,815
|
45,997,004
|
-29.3
|
510.97
|
660.78
|
-22.7
|
|
OK WEEKLY
|
61,241,950
|
45,179,623
|
35.6
|
748.74
|
608.85
|
23.0
|
|
PEOPLE
|
899,401,498
|
979,792,908
|
-8.2
|
3,422.23
|
3,889.35
|
-12.0
|
|
STAR
|
169274582
|
194,239,044
|
-12.9
|
1,173.24
|
1,254.46
|
-6.5
|
|
TV GUIDE
|
196,376,202
|
212,595,267
|
-7.6
|
958.15
|
1,138.21
|
-15.8
|
|
US WEEKLY
|
308,327,124
|
309,921,951
|
-0.5
|
1,791.45
|
1,949.21
|
-8.1
|
|
TOTALS
|
1,995,281,705
|
2,158,232,982
|
-7.6
|
10,914.36
|
12,093.04
|
-9.7
|
|
Source: PIB |
|
Music
2008 vs. 2007 |
|
Titles |
2008
$s |
2007 $s |
%
chnge |
'08
pages |
'07
pages |
%
chnge |
|
BLENDER
|
51,699,388
|
64,767,570
|
-20.2
|
522.07
|
752.09
|
-30.6
|
|
ROLLING STONE
|
184,823,728
|
223,298,997
|
-17.2
|
1,151.42
|
1,510.85
|
-23.8
|
|
SPIN
|
35,774,178
|
33,751,548
|
6.0
|
656.63
|
645.97
|
1.7
|
|
VIBE
|
77537982
|
90,500,275
|
-14.3
|
792.16
|
962.10
|
-17.7
|
|
TOTALS
|
349,835,276
|
412,318,390
|
-15.2
|
3,122.28
|
3,871.01
|
-19.3
|
|
Source: PIB |
|
Teen magazines
2008 vs. 2007 |
|
Titles |
2008
$s |
2007 $s |
%
chnge |
'08
pages |
'07
pages |
%
chnge |
|
COSMOGIRL
|
72,647,979
|
78,700,879
|
-7.7
|
658.32
|
738.78
|
-10.9
|
|
J-14
|
7271539
|
7,121,880
|
2.1
|
236.32
|
249.31
|
-5.2
|
|
SEVENTEEN
|
99,908,300
|
103,176,310
|
-3.2
|
816.69
|
893.67
|
-8.6
|
|
TEEN VOGUE
|
110,227,166
|
111,341,095
|
-1.0
|
1,110.01
|
1,233.59
|
-10.0
|
|
TOTALS
|
290,054,984
|
300,340,164
|
-3.4
|
2,821.34
|
3,115.35
|
-9.4
|
|
Source: PIB |
|
Women's service/beauty
2008 vs. 2007 |
|
Titles |
2008
$s |
2007 $s |
%
chnge |
'08
pages |
'07
pages |
%
chnge |
|
ALLURE
|
196,829,316
|
185,986,908
|
5.8
|
1,656.84
|
1,734.97
|
-4.5
|
|
COSMOPOLITAN
|
383,576,580
|
405,669,998
|
-5.4
|
1,627.80
|
1,815.98
|
-10.4
|
|
GLAMOUR
|
333,759,683
|
365,550,912
|
-8.7
|
1,831.28
|
2,089.56
|
-12.4
|
|
MARIE CLAIRE
|
141,897,254
|
145,296,846
|
-2.3
|
1,271.68
|
1,379.31
|
-7.8
|
|
TOTALS
|
1,056,062,833
|
1,102,504,664
|
-4.2
|
6,387.60
|
7,019.82
|
-9.0
|
|
Source: PIB |
|
Fashion
2008 vs. 2007 |
|
Titles |
2008
$s |
2007 $s |
%
chnge |
'08
pages |
'07
pages |
%
chnge |
|
ELLE
|
325,523,261
|
292,880,302
|
11.1
|
2,623.59
|
2,498.08
|
5.0
|
|
HARPER'S BAZAAR
|
220,404,739
|
209,753,828
|
5.1
|
2,066.45
|
2,070.63
|
-0.2
|
|
LUCKY
|
178,000,512
|
190,112,855
|
-6.4
|
1,696.64
|
1,907.02
|
-11.0
|
|
TOWN & COUNTRY
|
153,111,475
|
140,391,835
|
9.1
|
1,644.36
|
1,736.80
|
-5.3
|
|
VOGUE
|
395,718,758
|
419,036,800
|
-5.6
|
2,890.08
|
3,201.66
|
-9.7
|
|
W
|
163,169,190
|
176,544,099
|
-7.6
|
1,939.03
|
2,216.25
|
-12.5
|
|
TOTALS
|
1,435,927,935
|
1,428,719,719
|
0.5
|
12,860.15
|
13,630.44
|
-5.6
|
|
Source: PIB |
|
Travel
2008 vs. 2007 |
|
Titles |
2008
$s |
2007 $s |
%
chnge |
'08
pages |
'07
pages |
%
chnge |
|
ARTHUR FROMMERS BDGT TRVL
|
30,974,454
|
30,357,368
|
2.0
|
617.25
|
706.73
|
-12.7
|
|
CONDE NAST TRAVELER
|
177,803,468
|
187,566,052
|
-5.2
|
1,635.85
|
1,842.26
|
-11.2
|
|
DEPARTURES
|
87,204,877
|
85,525,118
|
2.0
|
1,082.69
|
1,158.19
|
-6.5
|
|
ENDLESS VACATION
|
12,930,606
|
12,946,544
|
-0.1
|
162.48
|
167.46
|
-3.0
|
|
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRVLR
|
41,448,108
|
38,233,899
|
8.4
|
589.41
|
571.85
|
3.1
|
|
TRAVEL+ LEISURE
|
150,879,874
|
156,105,823
|
-3.3
|
1,481.11
|
1,587.05
|
-6.7
|
|
TOTALS
|
501,241,387
|
510,734,804
|
-1.9
|
5,568.79
|
6,033.54
|
-7.7
|
|
Source: PIB |
|
General Interest & Lifestyle
2008 vs. 2007 |
|
Titles |
2008
$s |
2007 $s |
%
chnge |
'08
pages |
'07
pages |
%
chnge |
|
AARP-THE MAGAZINE
|
151,929,502
|
176,877,217
|
-14.1
|
267.76
|
329.57
|
-18.8
|
|
ATLANTIC
MONTHLY THE
|
32,305,765
|
33,243,359
|
-2.8
|
528.71
|
636.68
|
-17.0
|
|
GUIDEPOSTS
|
41,439,296
|
47,263,164
|
-12.3
|
508.10
|
598.82
|
-15.1
|
|
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
|
98,482,692
|
103,606,158
|
-4.9
|
438.19
|
468.70
|
-6.5
|
|
NEW YORK
MAGAZINE
|
219,199,705
|
227,694,051
|
-3.7
|
3,133.64
|
3,343.05
|
-6.3
|
|
NEW YORKER
|
179,314,209
|
226,152,740
|
-20.7
|
1,478.08
|
2,019.60
|
-26.8
|
|
READER'S DIGEST
|
254,998,936
|
312,579,834
|
-18.4
|
937.81
|
986.48
|
-4.9
|
|
SMITHSONIAN
|
70,189,968
|
76,303,399
|
-8.0
|
513.31
|
582.55
|
-11.9
|
|
SOUTHERN LIVING
|
191,153,209
|
206,300,210
|
-7.3
|
1,161.75
|
1,310.15
|
-11.3
|
|
SUNSET
|
73,969,599
|
91,632,055
|
-19.3
|
740.71
|
971.68
|
-23.8
|
|
TEXAS
MONTHLY
|
77,359,638
|
88,216,151
|
-12.3
|
2,014.60
|
2,359.27
|
-14.6
|
|
VANITY FAIR
|
278,651,829
|
311,025,731
|
-10.4
|
1,911.85
|
2,263.64
|
-15.5
|
|
TOTALS
|
1,668,994,348
|
1,900,894,069
|
-12.2
|
13,634.51
|
15,870.19
|
-14.1
|
|
Source: PIB |
|
Parenting
2008 vs. 2007 |
|
Titles |
2008
$s |
2007 $s |
%
chnge |
'08
pages |
'07
pages |
%
chnge |
|
AMERICAN BABY
|
109,200,915
|
113,426,034
|
-3.7
|
599.39
|
672.81
|
-10.9
|
|
BABY TALK
|
67,056,922
|
70,389,861
|
-4.7
|
453.91
|
501.72
|
-9.5
|
|
CHILD
|
0
|
28,923,235
|
|
0.00
|
404.64
|
|
|
COOKIE
|
58,964,704
|
38,515,067
|
53.1
|
779.53
|
703.75
|
10.8
|
|
FAMILY FUN
|
109,418,170
|
104,241,131
|
5.0
|
718.16
|
719.65
|
-0.2
|
|
PARENTING
|
143,807,426
|
154,061,713
|
-6.7
|
986.75
|
1,059.90
|
-6.9
|
|
PARENTS
|
231433244
|
223,242,922
|
3.7
|
1,479.60
|
1,509.13
|
-2.0
|
|
WONDERTIME
|
23,937,920
|
15,058,306
|
59.0
|
543.99
|
449.56
|
21.0
|
|
TOTALS
|
743,819,301
|
747,858,269
|
-0.5
|
5,561.33
|
6,021.16
|
-7.6
|
|
Source: PIB |
|
Personal finance
2008 vs. 2007 |
|
Titles |
2008
$s |
2007 $s |
%
chnge |
'08
pages |
'07
pages |
%
chnge |
|
BARRONS |
60,676,980
|
62,463,740
|
-2.9
|
1,421.85
|
1,523.91
|
-6.7
|
|
KIPLINGERS PERSNL FINANCE |
31,569,303
|
35,851,700
|
-11.9
|
424.81
|
497.33
|
-14.6
|
|
MONEY |
151,093,068
|
152,337,893
|
-0.8
|
793.62
|
807.66
|
-1.7
|
|
SMARTMONEY |
42,262,207
|
57,593,881
|
-26.6
|
501.90
|
713.57
|
-29.7
|
|
TOTALS |
285,601,558
|
308,247,214
|
-7.3
|
3,142.18
|
3,542.47
|
-11.3
|
|
Source: PIB |
|
Newsweeklies
2008 vs. 2007 |
|
Titles |
2008
$s |
2007 $s |
%
chnge |
'08
pages |
'07
pages |
%
chnge |
|
ECONOMIST |
131,528,972
|
104,843,922
|
25.5
|
2,468.28
|
2,364.06
|
4.4
|
|
NEWSWEEK |
346,321,966
|
475,005,027
|
-27.1
|
1,505.87
|
1,859.02
|
-19.0
|
|
THE WEEK |
31,429,933
|
27,662,253
|
13.6
|
602.73
|
602.70
|
0.0
|
|
TIME |
466,229,152
|
543,005,099
|
-14.1
|
1,752.02
|
2,162.20
|
-19.0
|
|
U.S.
NEWS |
174,786,189
|
270,476,565
|
-35.4
|
1,109.80
|
1,640.62
|
-32.4
|
|
TOTALS |
1,150,296,212
|
1,420,992,866
|
-19.0
|
7,438.70
|
8,628.60
|
-13.8
|
|
Source: PIB |
|
Women's Service
2008 vs. 2007 |
|
Titles |
2008
$s |
2007 $s |
%
chnge |
'08
pages |
'07
pages |
%
chnge |
|
BETTER HOMES & GARDENS
|
753,416,101
|
857,593,385
|
-12.1
|
1,688.94
|
2,051.05
|
-17.7
|
|
FAMILY CIRCLE
|
375,519,399
|
406,256,973
|
-7.6
|
1,559.93
|
1,808.52
|
-13.7
|
|
FIRST FOR WOMEN
|
43,121,742
|
43,181,839
|
-0.1
|
630.14
|
673.20
|
-6.4
|
|
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
|
538,277,584
|
526,954,408
|
2.1
|
1,618.01
|
1,682.71
|
-3.8
|
|
LADIES' HOME JOURNAL
|
302,104,696
|
356,393,316
|
-15.2
|
1,231.80
|
1,546.39
|
-20.3
|
|
MARTHA
STEWART LIVING
|
193,732,041
|
202,926,833
|
-4.5
|
1,305.22
|
1,475.43
|
-11.5
|
|
MORE
|
115,463,495
|
143,339,035
|
-19.4
|
906.74
|
1,301.55
|
-30.3
|
|
REAL SIMPLE
|
262,144,764
|
304,785,393
|
-14.0
|
1,701.56
|
2,090.15
|
-18.6
|
|
REDBOOK
|
213,931,272
|
226,064,682
|
-5.4
|
1,503.35
|
1,650.26
|
-8.9
|
|
WOMAN'S DAY
|
387,794,666
|
398,466,220
|
-2.7
|
1,561.21
|
1,688.62
|
-7.5
|
|
WOMANS WORLD
|
31,522,185
|
29,454,385
|
7.0
|
360.60
|
369.45
|
-2.4
|
|
WOMEN'S HEALTH
|
79,271,649
|
49,338,124
|
60.7
|
724.15
|
645.58
|
12.2
|
|
WORKING MOTHER
|
38,668,436
|
35,466,800
|
9.0
|
582.68
|
562.18
|
3.6
|
|
TOTALS
|
3,334,968,030
|
3,580,221,393
|
-6.9
|
15,374.33
|
17,545.09
|
-12.4
|
|
Source: PIB |
|
Health/Fitness
2008 vs. 2007
|
|
Titles
|
2008
$s
|
2007 $s
|
%
chnge
|
'08
pages
|
'07
pages
|
%
chnge
|
|
FIT PREGNANCY
|
30,833,700
|
31,446,894
|
-1.9
|
570.98
|
612.14
|
-6.7
|
|
FITNESS
|
89,760,971
|
110,045,192
|
-18.4
|
674.70
|
871.87
|
-22.6
|
|
MEDIZINE HEALTHY LIVING
|
41,397,226
|
47,479,784
|
-12.8
|
229.92
|
299.25
|
-23.2
|
|
NATURAL HEALTH
|
22,231,942
|
25,059,296
|
-11.3
|
525.46
|
581.82
|
-9.7
|
|
ORGANIC GARDENING
|
3,828,263
|
3,011,008
|
27.1
|
201.77
|
198.70
|
1.5
|
|
PREVENTION
|
155,475,355
|
168,627,260
|
-7.8
|
1,095.69
|
1,250.14
|
-12.4
|
|
REMEDY
|
41,000,773
|
46,330,930
|
-11.5
|
275.45
|
364.56
|
-24.4
|
|
WEIGHT WATCHERS
|
37,072,861
|
37,592,291
|
-1.4
|
553.52
|
588.42
|
-5.9
|
|
TOTALS
|
421,601,091
|
469,592,655
|
-10.2
|
4,127.49
|
4,766.9
|
-13.4
|
|
Source: PIB
|
|
Fan Sports
2008 vs. 2007 |
|
Titles |
2008
$s |
2007 $s |
%
chnge |
'08
pages |
'07
pages |
%
chnge |
|
ESPN MAGAZINE |
264,944,659
|
318,286,253
|
-16.8
|
1,278.83
|
1,641.99
|
-22.1
|
|
SPORTING NEWS |
29,737,689
|
41,535,051
|
-28.4
|
473.17
|
719.26
|
-34.2
|
|
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED |
642,228,004
|
683,860,747
|
-6.1
|
1,901.15
|
2,113.83
|
-10.1
|
|
TOTALS |
936,910,352
|
1,043,682,051
|
-10.3
|
3,653.15
|
4,475.08
|
-18.4
|
|
Source: PIB |
|
Personal Sports
2008 vs. 2007 |
|
Titles |
2008
$s |
2007 $s |
%
chnge |
'08
pages |
'07
pages |
%
chnge |
|
BICYCLING |
40,704,709
|
41,256,828
|
-1.3
|
716.00
|
780.01
|
-8.2
|
|
GOLF DIGEST |
165,157,885
|
176,375,806
|
-6.4
|
1,327.32
|
1,494.79
|
-11.2
|
|
GOLF FOR WOMEN |
20,675,897
|
30,695,938
|
-32.6
|
334.53
|
551.15
|
-39.3
|
|
GOLF MAGAZINE |
191,259,417
|
188,297,477
|
1.6
|
1,187.34
|
1,209.95
|
-1.9
|
|
GOLF WORLD |
42,207,874
|
38,015,542
|
11.0
|
1,222.92
|
1,173.02
|
4.3
|
|
RUNNERS WORLD |
71,468,220
|
72,028,716
|
-0.8
|
685.42
|
731.71
|
-6.3
|
|
SKI |
28,134,975
|
39,470,309
|
-28.7
|
623.30
|
674.98
|
-7.7
|
|
SKIING |
13,673,112
|
20,177,436
|
-32.2
|
374.86
|
384.59
|
-2.5
|
|
TENNIS |
25,134,547
|
29,677,633
|
-15.3
|
489.02
|
544.49
|
-10.2
|
|
TRAVEL + LEISURE GOLF |
34,650,771
|
38,356,997
|
-9.7
|
437.81
|
508.21
|
-13.9
|
|
TOTALS |
633,067,407
|
674,352,682
|
-6.1
|
7,398.52
|
8,052.9
|
-8.1
|
|
Source: PIB |
|
Weekend magazines
2008 vs. 2007 |
|
Titles |
2008
$s |
2007 $s |
%
chnge |
'08
pages |
'07
pages |
%
chnge |
|
AMERICAN PROFILE
|
227566749
|
228,028,602
|
-0.2
|
556.11
|
631.02
|
-11.9
|
|
LIFE MAGAZINE
|
0
|
37,236,406
|
|
0.00
|
98.84
|
|
|
LOS ANGELES TIMES MAGAZINE
|
19,945,666
|
24,112,427
|
-17.3
|
422.98
|
502.54
|
-15.8
|
|
NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE
|
394,950,038
|
434,383,751
|
-9.1
|
3,379.44
|
3,881.03
|
-12.9
|
|
PARADE
|
657,966,366
|
696,399,177
|
-5.5
|
707.50
|
786.68
|
-10.1
|
|
RELISH
|
115,715,277
|
82,746,064
|
39.8
|
205.70
|
206.12
|
-0.2
|
|
SPRY
|
16,172,067
|
0
|
|
| |