HGTV Magazine,
bucking the trend
Hearst is testing a new shelter/lifestyle title
By Diego Vasquez
Oct 3, 2011
A slew of shelter magazines have shut down over the past three years, with the recession battering the category hard with the collapse of the real estate market.
It wouldn't seem to be a good time to launch a new shelter title, and yet that's exactly what Hearst is doing tomorrow.
It is running a two-issue tryout for HGTV Magazine, a shelter-lifestyle hybrid that will include stories and decorating tips from the Scripps Network channel's best-known hosts.
Despite the risks inherent in launching any sort of magazine right now, analysts say HGTV Magazine looks like a smart investment, and could build into a success just like sister publication Food Network Magazine, one of the few titles launched during the recession that has actually thrived.
"I don’t think it has quite the same potential as the Food Network magazine or O, but there is a pattern that Hearst has found in tying in with TV programs or celebrities and making it work, and HGTV has become quite popular," says Marty Walker, magazine consultant and chairman at Walker Communications.
"Other networks are copying the formula with similar shows of their own, so there is a great deal of interest in the category."
HGTV Magazine's most important asset is its name. HGTV is already familiar to people, so Hearst will not have to build from scratch.
Initially Hearst will produce two issues of HGTV Magazine, one of which will debut on newsstands tomorrow and the other of which will be released on Jan. 17, 2012.
Both test issues will have an initial distribution of 350,000 and will be edited by Sara Peterson, the former editor of Coastal Living.
Walker says the title is being positioned as a competitor to Martha Stewart Living rather than more traditional shelter titles like Architectural Digest or Elle Décor.
Hearst will decide whether to move forward with the magazine based on the response to the test issues, similar to the launch of Food Network Magazine, which was one of just two epicurean titles to see ad pages grow during the first half of this year.
"They can only hope for a similar success [to FNM]," Walker says.
"I think what they probably learned [from that launch] is how best to sell subscriptions, although I would say that Hearst doesn't launch a magazine by trying to sell subscriptions, they put two issues out on the newsstand, and the number of subscriptions they get from those issues determines if they will go ahead."
Media people should get used to those sorts of soft launches.
Gone are the days of big-budget, broadly targeted new titles like Portfolio, the last major magazine launch before the recession, which was a hugely expensive flop for Conde Nast.
Instead readers and advertisers seem more interested in smaller niche titles right now, with loyal audiences and lower risks.
Of course, the biggest draw for Hearst is that HGTV has that loyal audience built in.
"The hardest thing about launching a magazine is to sell subscriptions for something people have never heard of," Walker says.
"If you launch in connection with a TV network, you have instant brand and name recognition. Also, TV gives it incredible exposure that most new launches don't get."
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