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Magazines see
ad pages fall yet further

Tumble 7.4 percent in the first half of 2008

By Lisa Snedeker
Jul 11, 2008

The first three months of 2008 were rough for consumer magazines, with ad pages falling 6.3 percent, the steepest in years.

By the looks of things, the second quarter was even rougher.

That's according to the latest data from the Publishers Information Bureau. They show ad pages slipped at an even faster pace between April and June.

Pages fell 7.4 percent over the first six months of the year, to 111,798.85 from 120,767.29 for the same period in 2007. That figure includes ad pages for Sunday magazines as well.

But in the second quarter pages slid 8.3 percent, to 50,695.60 from 54,126.39 for the same three months in 2007, suggesting that the ad climate for consumer titles is likely to get worse, even though some media forecasters are anticipating a stronger second half in overall ad spending.

Magazine ad revenues for the six months were reported to be down by 2.8 percent, to $12,492,275,667, but the decline was probably much steeper. That figure was based on rates cards before discounting, and in these hard times discounting is the norm.

A major factor in those page declines was a pullback by pharmaceutical advertisers, a category that had been increasing its spending steadily over recent years, and in the process offsetting cutbacks by other top categories, such as automotive.

In the first half of 2008, drugs and remedies, the top category, saw ad pages fall 13.2 percent, and in the second quarter the pace accelerated to a 20.5 percent decline.

Other major decliners in the first half were automotive, the No. 8 category, down 21.3 percent, and toiletries, the No. 3 category, off 11.1 percent.

Of the 13 categories tracked by PIB, only four saw page gains, food, up 6.9 percent, retail, up 2.3 percent, media and advertising, up 0.8 percent, and public transit and hotels, up 0.5 percent.

Of the 23 categories of magazines tracked by Media Life, all but one saw pages decline for the first half. Only women's fashion titles were up, and by a modest 0.1 percent.

 

Among the worst-hit categories were the business titles, off 10.2 percent, and newsweeklies, down 15.3 percent.

Automotive
 Year to date

Titles

2008
 $s

2007 $s

%
chnge

'08
pages

'07
pages

%
chnge

AUTOMOBILE MAGAZINE

35,203,520

37,283,895

-5.6

385.19

431.71

-10.8

AUTOWEEK

17,812,180

21,131,907

-15.7

513.91

621.60

-17.3

CAR AND DRIVER

94,927,091

98,566,899

-3.7

477.24

522.34

-8.6

HOT ROD

30,740,191

30,088,418

2.2

309.48

323.62

-4.4

MOTOR TREND

79,669,549

85,521,941

-6.8

513.47

586.78

-12.5

ROAD & TRACK

61,518,120

60,368,782

1.9

530.19

546.06

-2.9

TOTALS

319,870,651

332,961,842

-3.9

2,729.48

3,032.11

-10.0

Source: PIB



 

Entertainment/Celebrity
 Year to date

Titles

2008
 $s

2007 $s

%
chnge

'08
pages

'07
pages

%
chnge
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY 95,393,109 109,630,312 -13.0 605.39 727.51 -16.8
IN TOUCH WEEKLY 74,053,486 64,941,314 14.0 591.10 516.86 14.4
LIFE & STYLE WEEKLY 19,770,973 21,585,798 -8.4 309.12 321.53 -3.9
OK WEEKLY 29,992,783 20,752,248 44.5 368.16 279.57 31.7
PEOPLE 451,779,759 456,504,133 -1.0 1,723.61 1,812.14 -4.9
STAR 90,421,344 100,647,859 -10.2 626.52 619.34 1.2
TV GUIDE 103,132,873 94,602,475 9.0 504.06 511.22 -1.4
US WEEKLY 157,374,563 156,544,020 0.5 916.23 983.20 -6.8
TOTALS 1,021,918,890 1,025,208,159 -0.3 5,644.19 5,771.37 -2.2

Source: PIB

 

Teen magazines
 Year to date

Titles

2008
 $s

2007 $s

%
chnge

'08
pages

'07
pages

%
chnge
COSMOGIRL 32,966,570 36,914,151 -10.7 298.23 348.97 -14.5
J-14 3,160,254 3,226,605 -2.1 102.43 111.90 -8.5
SEVENTEEN 45,901,883 45,897,394 0.0 376.84 399.74 -5.7
TEEN VOGUE 51,477,690 44,763,807 15.0 517.81 495.39 4.5
TOTALS 133,506,397 130,801,957 -2.1 1,295.31 1,356.00 -4.5

Source: PIB

 

Women's service/beauty
 Year to date

Titles

2008
 $s

2007 $s

%
chnge

'08
pages

'07
pages

%
chnge
ALLURE 88,584,869 85,140,805 4.0 741.69 787.75 -5.8
COSMOPOLITAN 186,101,082 208,649,181 -10.8 791.09 931.80 -15.1
GLAMOUR 156,510,629 163,511,666 -4.3 860.20 937.19 -8.2
MARIE CLAIRE 66,455,744 68,202,304 -2.6 597.98 645.13 -7.3
TOTALS 497,652,324 525,503,956 -5.3 2,990.96 3,301.87 -9.4

Source: PIB

 

Fashion
 Year to date

Titles

2008
 $s

2007 $s

%
chnge

'08
pages

'07
pages

%
chnge
ELLE 144,181,759 129,040,931 11.7 1,170.57 1,100.18 6.4
HARPER'S BAZAAR 95,062,185 82,820,318 14.8 890.22 813.71 9.4
LUCKY 75,774,570 82,179,553 -7.8 722.22 822.34 -12.2
TOWN & COUNTRY 76,786,163 63,000,504 21.9 735.20 772.11 -4.8
VOGUE 180,609,822 172,597,259 4.6 1,328.13 1,322.43 0.4
W 74,018,848 71,205,150 4.0 881.05 893.85 -1.4
  TOTALS 646,433,347 600,843,715

7.6

 5,727.39 5,724.62

0.1

Source: PIB

 

Travel
 Year to date

Titles

2008
 $s

2007 $s

%
chnge

'08
pages

'07
pages

%
chnge
ARTHUR FROMMERS BDGT TRVL 17,936,152 16,457,302 9.0 362.67 388.82 -6.7
CONDE NAST TRAVELER 87,961,460 80,393,633 9.4 811.48 781.99 3.8
DEPARTURES 34,574,611 32,267,731 7.1 428.62 438.63 -2.3
ENDLESS VACATION 4,907,074 5,320,431 -7.8 65.42 67.63 -3.3
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRVLR 20,242,031 18,330,860 10.4 284.16 274.86 3.4
TRAVEL+LEISURE 73,986,168 76,228,955 -2.9 718.81 772.96 -7.0
  TOTALS 239,607,496 228,998,912

4.6

 2,671.16 2,724.89

-2

Source: PIB

 

General Interest & Lifestyle
 Year to date

Titles

2008
 $s

2007 $s

%
chnge

'08
pages

'07
pages

%
chnge
AARP-THE MAGAZINE 72,946,550 86,684,711 -15.8 129.62 163.07 -20.5
ATLANTIC MONTHLY THE 14,858,525 15,354,890 -3.2 242.59 295.13 -17.8
GUIDEPOSTS 22,092,508 19,473,015 13.5 271.41 246.99 9.9
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC 52,286,062 45,315,206 15.4 234.06 210.77 11.0
NEW YORK MAGAZINE 112,631,495 98,441,424 14.4 1,615.21 1,479.52 9.2
NEW YORKER 79,576,222 93,470,799 -14.9 665.15 832.65 -20.1
READER'S DIGEST 130,581,780 169,072,261 -22.8 469.74 552.07 -14.9
SMITHSONIAN 37,091,163 35,112,910 5.6 273.34 267.18 2.3
SOUTHERN LIVING 101,376,107 103,799,588 -2.3 619.96 664.69 -6.7
SUNSET 41,939,884 46,137,364 -9.1 417.41 489.98 -14.8
TEXAS MONTHLY 38,828,011 42,063,992 -7.7 1,017.84 1,116.54 -8.8
VANITY FAIR 120,617,186 125,879,404 -4.2 838.70 919.78 -8.8
TOTALS 824,825,493 880,805,564 -6.4 6,795.03 7,238.37 -6.1

Source: PIB

  

Parenting
 Year to date

Titles

2008
 $s

2007 $s

%
chnge

'08
pages

'07
pages

%
chnge
AMERICAN BABY 51,601,598 50,032,198 3.1 285.60 297.42 -4.0
BABY TALK 34,131,307 32,271,172 5.8 232.94 229.94 1.3
CHILD 0 28,923,235 - 0.00 404.64 -
COOKIE 25,285,773 11,061,717 128.6 333.79 222.71 49.9
FAMILY FUN 52,195,049 46,099,036 13.2 341.00 318.38 7.1
PARENTING 61,494,531 64,704,398 -5.0 423.02 427.79 -1.1
PARENTS 105,533,795 88,926,950 18.7 674.89 601.25 12.2
WONDERTIME 9,891,118 6,913,991 43.1 223.95 206.38 8.5
TOTALS 340,133,171 328,932,697 3.4 2,515.19 2,708.51 -7.1

Source: PIB

 

Personal finance
 Year to date

Titles

2008
 $s

2007 $s

%
chnge

'08
pages

'07
pages

%
chnge
BARRONS 33,015,439 32,153,259 2.7 778.40 781.07 -0.3
KIPLINGERS PERSNL FINANCE 16,179,316 18,257,308 -11.4 221.69 261.88 -15.3
MONEY 63,805,637 65,210,485 -2.2 336.06 344.05 -2.3
SMARTMONEY 20,393,594 25,132,636 -18.9 242.23 310.21 -21.9
TOTALS 133,393,986 140,753,688 -5.2 1,578.38 1,697.21 -7.0

Source: PIB

 

Newsweeklies
 Year to date

Titles

2008
 $s

2007 $s

%
chnge

'08
pages

'07
pages

%
chnge
ECONOMIST 65,674,919 52,993,388 23.9 1,245.47 1,200.98 3.7
NEWSWEEK 157,085,725 223,581,051 -29.7 687.99 887.07 -22.4
THE WEEK 12,606,735 13,005,508 -3.1 247.89 282.18 -12.2
TIME 211,889,130 252,598,738 -16.1 798.42 1,011.69 -21.1
U S NEWS & WORLD REPORT 92,948,379 125,790,743 -26.1 542.88 779.22 -30.3
TOTALS 540,204,888 667,969,428 -19.1 3,522.65 4,161.14 -15.3

Source: PIB



 

 

Women's Service
 Year to date

Titles

2008
 $s

2007 $s

%
chnge

'08
pages

'07
pages

%
chnge

BETTER HOMES & GARDENS

375,599,402

402,091,685

-6.6

840.16

962.61

-12.7

FAMILY CIRCLE

175,295,556

191,017,499

-8.2

730.41

853.87

-14.5

FIRST FOR WOMEN

23,496,940

20,949,461

12.2

344.60

326.07

5.7

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

268,415,047

256,529,022

4.6

812.97

818.58

-0.7

LADIES' HOME JOURNAL

149,823,967

165,237,192

-9.3

611.07

713.17

-14.3

MARTHA
STEWART LIVING

93,909,643

89,782,349

4.6

633.29

651.84

-2.8

MORE

57,470,858

65,232,939

-11.9

452.59

590.49

-23.4

REAL SIMPLE

134,216,979

132,270,830

1.5

872.21

904.19

-3.5

REDBOOK

99,765,338

106,109,774

-6.0

704.51

766.04

-8.0

WOMAN'S DAY

201,871,311

196,939,866

2.5

811.68

835.46

-2.8

WOMANS WORLD

15,861,310

14,461,840

9.7

179.62

181.64

-1.1

WOMEN'S HEALTH

40,940,254

20,072,377

104.0

375.15

282.65

32.7

WORKING MOTHER

17,937,194

14,276,700

25.6

270.02

226.47

19.2

TOTALS

1,654,603,799

1,674,971,534

-1.2

7,638.28

8,113.08

-5.9

Source: PIB

Fan Sports
 Year to date

Titles

2008
 $s

2007 $s

%
chnge

'08
pages

'07
pages

%
chnge

ESPN MAGAZINE

122,955,850

134,350,806

-8.5

589.93

692.07

-14.8

SPORTING NEWS

14,249,031

18,948,158

-24.8

225.78

326.78

-30.9

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

314,517,004

324,256,034

-3.0

924.20

992.86

-6.9

TOTALS

451,721,885

477,554,998

-5.4

1,739.91

2,011.71

-13.5

Source: PIB

Personal Sports
 Year to date

Titles

2008
 $s

2007 $s

%
chnge

'08
pages

'07
pages

%
chnge

BICYCLING

21,331,784

20,789,809

2.6

376.47

392.94

-4.2

GOLF DIGEST

91,572,740

93,512,949

-2.1

730.85

782.61

-6.6

GOLF FOR WOMEN

15,972,097

15,060,939

6.0

258.31

279.45

-7.6

GOLF MAGAZINE

100,295,288

98,070,785

2.3

625.47

627.78

-0.4

GOLF WORLD

26,774,008

24,259,539

10.4

788.97

757.53

4.2

RUNNERS WORLD

36,560,250

33,811,839

8.1

353.36

346.16

2.1

SKI

7,419,384

9,013,513

-17.7

125.71

150.88

-16.7

SKIING

4,287,867

4,832,403

-11.3

81.64

90.23

-9.5

TENNIS

12,546,516

15,561,288

-19.4

243.01

284.99

-14.7

TRAVEL + LEISURE GOLF

16,963,401

16,506,871

2.8

214.34

218.10

-1.7

TOTALS

333,723,335

331,419,935

0.7

3,798.13

3,930.67

-3.4

Source: PIB

Weekend magazines
 Year to date

Titles

2008
 $s

2007 $s

%
chnge

'08
pages

'07
pages

%
chnge

AMERICAN PROFILE

118,721,484

105,366,059

12.7

290.89

287.11

1.3

LIFE MAGAZINE

0

37,236,406

-

0.00

98.84

-

LOS ANGELES TIMES MAGAZINE

10,130,848

12,389,882

-18.2

213.82

254.04

-15.8

NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE

181,291,296

189,782,971

-4.5

1,563.85

1,707.34

-8.4

PARADE

322,567,148

311,094,977

3.7

345.71

348.62

-0.8

RELISH

62,343,887

34,472,571

80.9

110.69

85.53

29.4

USA WEEKEND

242,651,604

241,361,985

0.5

349.76

357.54

-2.2

TOTALS

937,706,267

931,704,851

0.6

2,874.72

3,139.02

-8.4

Source: PIB

Men's
 Year to date

Titles

2008
 $s

2007 $s

%
chnge

'08
pages

'07
pages

%
chnge

DETAILS

32,823,616

31,531,796

4.1

542.84

544.86

-0.4

ESQUIRE

48,393,664

48,395,821

0.0

431.00

456.89

-5.7

FHM

0

9,611,491

-

0.00

90.14

-

GQ

84,864,885

82,775,562

2.5

666.09

702.27

-5.2

MAXIM

91,470,314

85,884,925

6.5

388.19

385.46

0.7

MEN'S FITNESS

34,828,570

35,931,250

-3.1

454.39

452.38

0.4

MEN'S HEALTH

74,079,571

79,618,723

-7.0

459.76

524.71

-12.4

MEN'S JOURNAL

55,800,136

47,472,307

17.5

616.02

550.61

11.9

MEN'S VOGUE

15,281,680

11,421,662

33.8

271.51

248.85

9.1

PLAYBOY

34,072,458

38,879,558

-12.4

215.70

221.19

-2.5

STUFF

0

32,964,281

-

0.00

296.71

-

TOTALS

471,614,894

471,523,095

0.02

4,045.5

4,177.36

-3.2

Source: PIB

Shelter
 Year to date

Titles

2008
 $s

2007 $s

%
chnge

'08
pages

'07
pages

%
chnge

ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST

88,131,407

80,041,380

10.1

816.39

786.10

3.9

COTTAGE LIVING

16,731,585

16,460,031

1.6

239.50

244.14

-1.9

COUNTRY HOME

70,659,467

71,983,654

-1.8

328.06

372.36

-11.9

COUNTRY LIVING

71,416,677

69,367,581

3.0

495.74

514.62

-3.7

DOMINO

25,493,305

18,895,765

34.9

307.31

304.55

0.9

DWELL

21,228,019

20,750,126

2.3

582.37

627.84

-7.2

ELLE DECOR

44,709,432

41,931,994

6.6

577.73

565.89

2.1

HOME

21,493,281

30,881,535

-30.4

206.69

298.95

-30.9

HOUSE & GARDEN

0

47,553,649

-

0.00

433.61

-

HOUSE BEAUTIFUL

47,778,537

42,482,270

12.5

374.45

330.25

13.4

METROPOLITAN HOME

45,750,829

43,868,390

4.3

494.33

475.95

3.9

THIS OLD HOUSE

24,204,033

25,155,759

-3.8

295.09

321.59

-8.2

TRADITIONAL HOME

50,038,651

55,502,305

-9.8

349.78

412.02

-15.1

VERANDA

25,906,520

21,586,937

20.0

477.72

420.17

13.7

TOTALS

553,541,743

586,461,376

-5.6

5,545.16

6,108.04

-9.2

Source: PIB

 

Bridal
 Year to date

Titles

2008
 $s

2007 $s

%
chnge

'08
pages

'07
pages

%
chnge

BRIDAL GUIDE

42,073,313

48,773,734

-13.7

1,065.38

1,264.71

-15.8

BRIDE'S

112,641,528

105,041,419

7.2

1,508.26

1,476.54

2.1

ELEGANT BRIDE

9,391,785

9,588,796

-2.1

258.71

293.44

-11.8

MODERN BRIDE

81,789,988

80,481,892

1.6

1,091.29

1,137.67

-4.1

TOTALS

245,896,614

243,885,841

0.8

3,923.64

4,172.36

-6.0

Source: PIB

Epicurean
 Year to date

Titles

2008
 $s

2007 $s

%
chnge

'08
pages

'07
pages

%
chnge

BON APPETIT

52,214,692

51,413,882

1.6

427.54

445.22

-4.0

COOKING LIGHT

63,220,273

68,183,577

-7.3

615.76

719.58

-14.4

EVERY DAY W/ RACHAEL RAY

49,591,000

32,815,325

51.1

375.61

325.41

15.4

EVERYDAY FOOD

14,086,595

15,091,283

-6.7

265.26