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Magazines

Yet another down year for magazines

Ad pages fall for the seventh straight year, down 8.2 percent

By Bill Cromwell

January 14, 2013

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spa magazine Heading into 2012, magazines hadn’t seen a year-over-year gain in ad pages since 2005.

That didn’t change last year.

For the seventh straight year, ad pages declined for the industry, down 8.2 percent, from 164,190.17 to 150,698.57 during 2012, according to new data from the Publishers Information Bureau.

Including Sunday magazine totals, ad pages were off 8.2 percent from 168,711.64 to 154,838.29.

That included a 7.2 percent decline in fourth quarter, the smallest decline for the year.

Certainly the economy hasn’t helped the industry. Last year marked the steepest magazine ad page decline since 2009, when the country was in the depths of the recession and pages plummeted 25.6 percent.

In 2012, with uncertainty over the European debt crisis and the looming fiscal cliff weighing heavily on consumers, advertisers cut back across a number of media. Magazines were impacted greatly, following a more moderate 3.1 percent decline in 2011.

But the economy isn’t entirely to blame for magazines’ woes. You have to go back to 2005 to see any ad page gains, and even then it was a modest 0.5 percent.

New media is responsible for some of the decline, whether it’s siphoning off ad dollars that would have otherwise gone to magazines or prompting the closure of some print editions, such as Motorboating, which went online-only last year. That alone led to the loss of almost 336 ad pages.

More such losses will come this year. Newsweek, which had 788.37 ad pages last year and was one of the few titles to gain, has gone online-only, and more titles are expected to follow.

Fifty-one magazines, or 23 percent of the 219 tracked by the PIB, saw ad page gains last year.

Reader’s Digest Large Edition saw the biggest ad page gains for the year, up 30.9 percent. Ebony was second with a gain of 22.9 percent.

The biggest decline was for Spa magazine, down 81.8 in 2012. Spa shut down last February.

Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel, Renovation Style, Spin and Sporting News all saw steep declines of 54 percent or more, but again those were due in part to limited publication or closures as well.

Automotive 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
AUTOMOBILE MAGAZINE	58,649,461	62,320,956	-5.9	515.43	580.93	-11.3
AUTOWEEK	35,459,669	35,801,956	-1	986.55	1,005.48	-1.9
CAR AND DRIVER	153,257,638	148,622,418	3.1	762.78	771.78	-1.2
HOT ROD	53,863,788	59,258,687	-9.1	490.99	547.56	-10.3
MOTOR TREND	142,642,490	132,050,125	8	736.4	726.32	1.4
ROAD & TRACK	75,864,588	81,752,923	-7.2	699.38	779.91	-10.3
TOTALS	519,737,634	519,807,065	-0.0	4,191.53	4,411.98	-5.0
Source: PIB

Entertainment/Celebrity 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY	188,235,841	197,472,138	-4.7	1,011.39	1,109.34	-8.8
IN TOUCH WEEKLY	60,483,478	88,361,740	-31.6	629.85	758.4	-17
LIFE & STYLE WEEKLY	26,590,904	28,490,944	-6.7	509.89	475.34	7.3
OK WEEKLY	81,990,752	84,814,995	-3.3	1,192.03	1,053.13	13.2
PEOPLE	993,275,045	996,770,296	-0.4	3,155.50	3,356.93	-6
STAR	145,952,517	157,498,012	-7.3	1,238.81	1,293.41	-4.2
TV GUIDE	115,101,840	103,822,537	10.9	704.83	683.01	3.2
US WEEKLY	360,759,080	354,223,350	1.8	1,675.24	1,726.50	-3
TOTALS	1,972,389,457	2,011,454,012	-1.9	10,117.54	10,456.06	-3.2
Source: PIB

Music 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
ROLLING STONE	360,759,080	354,223,350	1.8	1,675.24	1,726.50	-3
SPIN	9,711,273	21,566,961	-55	170.73	377.83	-54.8
TOTALS	370,470,353	375,790,311	-1.4	1,845.97	2,104.33	-12.3
Source: PIB

Teen magazines 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
SEVENTEEN	103,266,219	108,452,299	-4.8	700.63	770.18	-9
TEEN VOGUE	106,744,028	98,273,358	8.6	845.24	821.93	2.8
TOTALS	210,010,247	206,725,657	1.6	1,545.87	1,592.11	-3.0
Source: PIB

Fashion 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
ELLE	367,035,576	331,080,311	10.9	2,454.76	2,314.75	6
HARPER’S BAZAAR	234,627,534	201,409,524	16.5	1,840.19	1,656.31	11.1
IN STYLE	435,160,655	389,793,577	11.6	2,683.26	2,544.92	5.4
LUCKY	111,621,009	133,546,754	-16.4	892.59	1,119.89	-20.3
MARIE CLAIRE	216,197,491	184,425,495	17.2	1,598.80	1,428.42	11.9
PEOPLE STYLE WATCH	111,096,459	99,133,847	12.1	1,352.82	1,303.12	3.8
TOWN & COUNTRY	75,575,710	76,181,062	-0.8	887.51	841.85	5.4
VOGUE	422,570,400	389,591,959	8.5	2,602.08	2,509.66	3.7
W	119,816,671	103,664,338	15.6	1,201.91	1,089.20	10.3
TOTALS	2,093,701,505	1,908,826,867	9.7	15,513.92	14,808.12	4.8
Source: PIB

Travel 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
ARTHUR FROMMERS BDGT TRVL	8,926,044	19,012,239	-53.1	143.56	321.11	-55.3
CONDE NAST TRAVELER	118,247,195	119,581,266	-1.1	919.56	972.76	-5.5
DEPARTURES	73,104,117	67,667,772	8	778.24	761.42	2.2
ENDLESS VACATION	8,699,983	10,306,814	-15.6	98.72	122.87	-19.7
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRVLR	32,644,029	33,317,579	-2	373.53	404.95	-7.8
TRAVEL+ LEISURE	121,838,752	135,792,558	-10.3	967.48	1,145.53	-15.5
TOTALS	363,460,120	385,678,228	-5.8	3,281.09	3,728.64	-12.0
Source: PIB

General Interest & Lifestyle 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
AARP-THE MAGAZINE	141,186,685	148,104,673	-4.7	223.41	246.63	-9.4
ATLANTIC MONTHLY THE	33,593,217	35,356,852	-5	462.12	531.14	-13
GUIDEPOSTS	27,712,516	33,098,954	-16.3	383.4	415.9	-7.8
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC	75,628,926	95,565,208	-20.9	313.32	398.84	-21.4
NEW YORK MAGAZINE	198,049,406	203,571,662	-2.7	2,441.25	2,607.95	-6.4
NEW YORKER	164,012,856	167,686,129	-2.2	1,091.47	1,166.54	-6.4
READER’S DIGEST	189,700,817	168,999,575	12.2	874.98	816.62	7.1
SMITHSONIAN	72,738,102	66,744,846	9	426.48	431.24	-1.1
SOUTHERN LIVING	183,358,186	181,589,299	1	880.84	941.77	-6.5
SUNSET	65,269,484	69,904,439	-6.6	527.77	601.53	-12.3
TEXAS MONTHLY	75,001,096	69,857,508	7.4	1,943.15	1,813.15	7.2
VANITY FAIR	268,330,634	261,233,354	2.7	1,436.43	1,476.54	-2.7
TOTALS	1,494,581,925	1,501,712,499	-0.5	11,004.62	11,447.85	-3.9
Source: PIB

Parenting 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
AMERICAN BABY	87,213,775	105,468,053	-17.3	397.99	506.49	-21.4
BABY TALK	66,549,530	64,065,866	3.9	371.3	375.72	-1.2
FAMILY FUN	95,557,756	102,036,198	-6.3	487.76	547.6	-10.9
PARENTING	102,803,229	110,670,922	-7.1	710.76	801.06	-11.3
PARENTING SCHOOL YEARS	32,307,501	35,525,246	-9.1	588.65	680.66	-13.5
PARENTS	224,555,294	234,881,099	-4.4	1,214.70	1,318.48	-7.9
TOTALS	608,987,085	652,647,384	-6.7	3,771.16	4,230.01	-10.9
Source: PIB

Personal finance 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
BARRONS	61,293,169	61,126,793	0.3	1,192.98	1,254.65	-4.9
KIPLINGERS PERSNL FINANCE	17,945,281	22,396,570	-19.9	262.8	338.41	-22.3
MONEY	116,864,546	116,982,536	-0.1	514.73	541.76	-5
SMARTMONEY	25,605,545	32,737,916	-21.8	253.48	338.18	-25
TOTALS	221,708,541	233,243,815	-4.9	2,223.99	2,473.00	-10.1
Source: PIB

Newsweeklies 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
ECONOMIST	117,518,501	125,954,467	-6.7	1,744.04	1,986.49	-12.2
NEWSWEEK	154,295,256	141,014,235	9.4	788.37	746.93	5.5
THE WEEK	36,196,569	45,182,971	-19.9	506.53	671.22	-24.5
TIME	396,044,849	419,400,212	-5.6	1,203.49	1,370.30	-12.2
TOTALS	704,055,175	731,551,885	-3.8	4,242.43	4,774.94	-11.1
Source: PIB

Women’s Service 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
BETTER HOMES & GARDENS	715,685,188	725,045,080	-1.3	1,365.19	1,438.76	-5.1
FAMILY CIRCLE	357,620,228	392,104,151	-8.8	1,200.36	1,435.25	-16.4
FIRST FOR WOMEN	30,043,390	33,037,666	-9.1	396.8	462.59	-14.2
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING	475,250,019	511,540,122	-7.1	1,203.29	1,378.85	-12.7
LADIES’ HOME JOURNAL	176,803,095	217,348,184	-18.7	740.58	948.76	-21.9
MARTHA STEWART LIVING	135,096,516	183,195,281	-26.3	766.21	1,079.42	-29
MORE	109,990,248	130,179,181	-15.5	673.19	830.85	-19
O-THE OPRAH MAGAZINE	183,568,872	211,563,598	-13.2	1,160.15	1,359.46	-14.7
REAL SIMPLE	242,046,792	278,622,939	-13.1	1,277.79	1,553.92	-17.8
REDBOOK	191,390,205	224,372,565	-14.7	1,082.34	1,342.12	-19.4
WOMAN’S DAY	318,008,614	386,901,556	-17.8	1,270.27	1,374.13	-7.6
WOMANS WORLD	29,884,482	30,209,362	-1.1	318.19	330.97	-3.9
WOMEN’S HEALTH	114,664,960	102,125,506	12.3	624.74	585.04	6.8
WORKING MOTHER	25,121,102	34,220,463	-26.6	331.33	456.91	-27.5
TOTALS	3,105,173,711	3,460,465,654	-10.3	12,410.43	14,577.03	-14.9
Source: PIB

Fan Sports 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
ESPN MAGAZINE	259,297,736	299,430,619	-13.4	1,084.26	1,296.15	-16.3
SPORTING NEWS	4,121,159	18,123,176	-77.3	68	320.32	-78.8
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED	576,764,608	576,426,586	0.1	1,411.50	1,493.71	-5.5
TOTALS	840,183,503	893,980,381	-6.0	2,563.76	3,110.18	-17.6
Source: PIB

Personal Sports 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
BICYCLING	36,115,726	37,479,902	-3.6	498.36	543.77	-8.4
GOLF DIGEST	117,502,844	124,968,875	-6	762.5	844.02	-9.7
GOLF MAGAZINE	162,048,623	156,375,597	3.6	798.81	832.07	-4
GOLF WORLD	27,213,015	34,118,374	-20.2	646.16	858.06	-24.7
RUNNERS WORLD	92,232,361	88,907,250	3.7	658.13	671.25	-2
SKI	15,839,941	23,751,771	-33.3	275.26	415.11	-33.7
TENNIS	11,774,612	15,248,070	-22.8	200.75	274.98	-27
TOTALS	462,727,122	480,849,839	-3.8	3,839.97	4,439.26	-13.5
Source: PIB

Weekend magazines 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
AMERICAN PROFILE	231,693,928	235,640,457	-1.7	494.63	499.94	-1.1
DASH	42,824,199	35,920,506	19.2	120.23	106.35	13.1
LOS ANGELES TIMES MAG	4,835,406	12,158,631	-60.2	159.49	394.64	-59.6
NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE	249,305,674	258,825,482	-3.7	2,132.17	2,203.76	-3.2
PARADE	536,526,704	563,633,214	-4.8	496.59	560.82	-11.5
RELISH	104,142,659	117,728,514	-11.5	128.09	143.32	-10.6
SPRY	47,288,553	48,585,168	-2.7	104.26	107.18	-2.7
USA WEEKEND	382,411,392	372,066,106	2.8	504.26	505.46	-0.2
TOTALS	1,599,028,516	1,644,558,079	-2.8	4,139.72	4,521.47	-8.4
Source: PIB

Men’s 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
DETAILS	53,074,565	50,543,033	5	698.21	697.73	0.1
ESQUIRE	114,526,219	121,335,909	-5.6	863.58	942.59	-8.4
GQ	190,205,762	188,761,793	0.8	1,183.37	1,225.72	-3.5
MAXIM	112,086,501	137,164,290	-18.3	392.45	504.25	-22.2
MEN’S FITNESS	48,577,994	53,703,637	-9.5	627.32	700.08	-10.4
MEN’S HEALTH	139,341,529	147,304,441	-5.4	720.19	776.57	-7.3
MEN’S JOURNAL	94,238,707	90,859,999	3.7	849.74	863.22	-1.6
PLAYBOY	48,577,994	53,703,637	-9.5	627.32	700.08	-10.4
TOTALS	800,629,271	843,376,739	-5.1	5,962.18	6,410.24	-7.0
Source: PIB

Shelter 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST	128,227,467	111,627,968	14.9	1,002.72	910.27	10.2
COUNTRY LIVING	106,982,474	106,126,270	0.8	630.91	653.29	-3.4
DWELL	27,681,608	26,942,047	2.7	623.9	640.71	-2.6
ELLE DECOR	96,029,689	97,020,468	-1	1,106.63	1,176.31	-5.9
THIS OLD HOUSE	51,138,914	52,376,086	-2.4	506.77	545.87	-7.2
TRADITIONAL HOME	90,090,669	77,366,062	16.4	581.41	516	12.7
VERANDA	33,628,001	34,443,135	-2.4	520.26	550.22	-5.4
TOTALS	533,778,822	505,902,036	5.5	4,972.60	4,992.67	-0.4
Source: PIB

Bridal 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
BRIDAL GUIDE	59,710,413	69,875,103	-14.5	1,499.95	1,597.86	-6.1
BRIDE’S	207,623,110	222,418,898	-6.7	2,335.82	2,603.44	-10.3
MARTHA WEDDINGS	50,754,530	40,298,207	25.9	1,219.05	1,006.91	21.1
TOTALS	318,088,053	332,592,208	-4.4	5,054.82	5,208.21	-3.0
Source: PIB

Epicurean 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
BON APPETIT	95,484,722	88,995,101	7.3	613.89	598.27	2.6
COOKING LIGHT	124,121,159	134,740,547	-7.9	960.9	1,107.49	-13.2
EVERY DAY W/ RACHAEL RAY	93,099,544	86,388,357	7.8	607.9	585.38	3.8
EVERYDAY FOOD	21,780,970	22,073,312	-1.3	312.75	326.73	-4.3
FINE COOKING	2,251,127	2,020,102	11.4	84.81	77.56	9.3
FOOD & WINE	98,453,091	97,880,802	0.6	1,006.77	1,064.99	-5.5
FOOD NETWORK MAGAZINE	83,718,128	65,076,031	28.6	1,042.04	888	17.3
SAVEUR	16,162,635	19,537,641	-17.3	328.35	422.38	-22.3
TOTALS	535,071,376	516,711,893	3.6	4,957.41	5,070.8	-2.2
Source: PIB

Business/Finance 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
BLOOMBERG BUSINESS WEEK	221,720,575	223,352,279	-0.7	1,490.32	1,536.71	-3
ENTREPRENEUR	72,214,046	77,974,636	-7.4	832.9	902.06	-7.7
FAST COMPANY	53,837,678	49,036,007	9.8	597.48	570.02	4.8
FORBES	274,913,127	255,087,857	7.8	1,834.59	1,772.17	3.5
FORTUNE	208,441,655	203,995,694	2.2	1,464.18	1,525.68	-4
HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW	17,956,009	18,962,833	-5.3	395.73	436.04	-9.2
INC.	47,328,532	52,214,588	-9.4	575.98	653.8	-11.9
TOTALS	896,411,622	880,623,894	1.8	7,191.18	7,396.48	-2.8
Source: PIB

Science and Technology 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
POPULAR MECHANICS	100,762,998	104,876,171	-3.9	695.35	757.31	-8.2
POPULAR SCIENCE	73,022,781	81,200,456	-10.1	508.59	600.25	-15.3
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN	16,238,380	18,909,120	-14.1	206.65	259.61	-20.4
TECHNOLOGY REVIEW	2,908,043	2,942,966	-1.2	106.47	110.69	-3.8
WIRED	101,715,439	99,835,278	1.9	885.48	938.04	-5.6
TOTALS	294,647,641	307,763,991	-4.3	2,402.54	2,665.9	-9.9
Source: PIB

Outdoor & Recreation 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
BASSMASTER	0	7,882,611	-100.0	0.00	191.80	-100.0
BOATING	19,138,386	17,404,112	10	448.23	424.92	5.5
CYCLE WORLD	19,977,427	22,275,054	-10.3	586.39	583.25	0.5
FIELD & STREAM	82,129,253	82,368,636	-0.3	532.47	578.31	-7.9
FLYING	12,719,223	12,899,600	-1.4	450.73	480.15	-6.1
MOTORBOATING	0	12,241,885	-100.0	0.00	335.97	-100.0
OUTDOOR LIFE	36,653,131	36,420,194	0.6	398.57	435.57	-8.5
OUTSIDE MAGAZINE	79,709,316	85,110,114	-6.3	754.94	840.89	-10.2
POWER & MOTORYACHT	0	31,626,205	-100.0	0	1,082.31	-100.0
SALT WATER SPORTSMAN	14,142,105	14,241,375	-0.7	376.12	387.22	-2.9
TOTALS	264,468,841	322,469,786	-18.0	3,547.45	5,340.39	-33.6
Source: PIB

African American 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
BLACK ENTERPRISE	25,753,611	28,468,035	-9.5	547.92	606.78	-9.7
EBONY	47,791,117	36,979,652	29.2	702.01	570.98	22.9
ESSENCE	110,412,175	123,128,135	-10.3	1,063.48	1,258.79	-15.5
JET	11,341,963	13,033,867	-13	330.69	394.02	-16.1
TOTALS	195,298,866	201,609,689	-3.1	2,644.1	2,830.57	-6.6
Source: PIB

Hispanic 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
LATINA	33,163,961	32,474,310	2.1	681.48	677.46	0.6
PEOPLE EN ESPANOL	81,010,316	68,277,573	18.6	1,066.95	952.19	12.1
SER PADRES	23,429,803	18,196,959	28.8	224.15	220.4	1.7
SIEMPRE MUJER	21,800,999	18,596,122	17.2	323.6	317.3	2
TOTALS	159,405,079	137,544,964	15.9	2,296.18	2,167.35	6.0
Source: PIB

Health/Fitness 2012 vs. 2011
Titles	2012 $s	2011 $s	% chnge	’12 pages	’11 pages	% chnge
FIT PREGNANCY	29,615,508	32,135,776	-7.8	452.48	511.73	-11.6
FITNESS	126,162,999	123,152,607	2.4	803.85	812.38	-1.1
NATURAL HEALTH	13,987,477	15,268,029	-8.4	278.79	320.13	-12.9
ORGANIC GARDENING	6,395,350	5,819,642	9.9	226.3	222.47	1.7
PREVENTION	99,972,796	114,033,330	-12.3	646.58	773.05	-16.4
WEIGHT WATCHERS	34,658,557	40,734,501	-14.9	442.83	545.32	-18.8
TOTALS	310,792,687	331,143,885	-6.1	2,850.83	3,185.08	-10.5
Source: PIB