Magazine ad pages dip
during third quarter
Fall 5.6 percent versus last year and down year to date
By Bill Cromwell
Oct 11, 2011
Third quarter is looking like a rough one for the still-recovering media economy based on some early data.
Magazines, the first major media to release third-quarter numbers, took a big hit, falling back into negative territory after five straight quarters of growth in ad pages, according to numbers released by the Publishers Information Bureau yesterday.
Ad pages were off 5.6 percent in third quarter compared to the same period last year, to 38,152.38. Revenue also fell, off 1.5 percent to $4,716,981,184.
The big third-quarter dip sent year-to-date ad pages down as well. After seeing gains of 1.3 percent during the first half of the year, ad pages are now down 1.1 percent through September, to 117,567.04.
Ad revenue remains in positive territory year to date, up 2.1 percent to $14,354,822,025.
The declines are worrisome but they are not unexpected.
The U.S. economy sputtered over the summer, with continued high unemployment, a troubled housing market and a volatile stock market spooking many advertisers.
Indeed, nine of the top 12 magazine ad categories saw ad pages decrease versus third quarter last year.
Food and food products saw an especially sharp dip, down 24.8 percent, while automotive fell 18.8 percent.
Home furnishings and supplies was also down double-digit percentages, off 11.9 percent from last year.
Year to date six ad categories are seeing losses versus last year. Financial, insurance and real estate has seen the biggest bump, up 15.5 percent.
Media Life will publish numbers for individual magazines and magazine categories tomorrow.
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