Mag Ad Pages Drop 17.2% In Q4 (Dinosaur Media DeathWatch™)

Media Daily News ^ | January 14, 2009 | Erik Sass

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As expected, 2008 wrapped up on a spectacularly sour note for consumer magazines, as the recession pummeled ad pages across the board. According to figures released by the Publishers Information Bureau Tuesday, total ad pages fell a remarkable 17.2% in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007; that's equal to about 13,000 ad pages. For 2008 overall, magazines suffered an 11.7% decline compared to 2007 (and that's on top of a 1% decline in 2007 compared to 2006).

First, the scarce good news, which mostly graced newer titles. Ad pages at Rodale's Bestlife, the relatively new men's lifestyle title, were up 7.3%, to 231. Ad pages at Wondertime, Disney's fairly new parenting title, soared 35.4% to 198, while competitor Cookie from Conde Nast grew a more modest 3.5% to 285. A relative newcomer in the newsweekly category, The Week, was strong with 9.1% growth to 221. Among more established titles, Hachette's Elle rose 4.3% to 806; Mansueto's Fast Company defied gravity with a 13.5% increase, to 229; and American Media Inc.'s Men's Fitness stayed healthy with a 4% increase to 273, while Muscle & Fitness, another AMI title, pumped up 5.1% to 495.

If you're looking for bad news, you can take your pick--as virtually every major category saw substantial, if not outright disastrous, declines. Indeed, the other 235 consumer titles tracked by PIB did not fare so well, as double-digit declines in ad pages were the norm. In order of magnitude, some of the biggest losses came at Life & Style Weekly (47.8%), Blender (42.7%), SmartMoney (37.9%), More (37.4%), The New Yorker (35.1%), Rolling Stone (33.3%), Conde Nast Portfolio (33.1%), Real Simple (32.9%), ESPN Magazine (28.6%), Gourmet (28%), Conde Nast Traveler (26.9%), People (25.5%), First for Women (25.3%), Maxim (25.3%), Bicycling (25.2%), O the Oprah Magazine (24.9%), Everyday Food (24.7%), GQ (24.5%), Newsweek (24.3%), Bon Appetit (23.9%), In Touch Weekly (23.7%), American Photo (23.7%), Entertainment Weekly (23.6%), Ladies' Home Journal (23.3%), National Geographic (21.3%), Cooking Light (23.2%), Better Homes & Gardens (21.2%), and Prevention (20.8%).

That's not to say that other titles escaped unscathed, as revealed by a quick look at some of the bigger titles not mentioned above. In alphabetic order this time, more typical losses were seen at BusinessWeek (down 19.6%), Country Living (18.5%), Details (14.2%), Domino (15.1%), Dwell (18.6%), Esquire (14.6%), Fitness (19.9%), Food & Wine (14.2%), Fortune (18%), Glamour (17.6%), Good Housekeeping (14.1%), Harper's Bazaar (13.1%), Lucky (17%), Marie Claire (17.7%), New York Magazine (15.6%), Runner's World (17.8%), Sports Illustrated (15.4%), and Time (18.4%).

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Wednesday morning good news.

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ping

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TIME

"TIME, oh, TIME
Where did you go
TIME, oh, good, good TIME
Where did you go"

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http://www.magazine.org/advertising/revenue/by_ad_category/pib-4q-2008.aspx
2008 Magazine Advertising Shows Effects of Soft Economy

http://www.magazine.org/advertising/revenue/BY_MAG_TITLE_YTD/pib-4q-2008.aspx
January - December 2008 vs 2007

http://www.magazine.org/advertising/revenue/BY_MAG_TITLE_QTR/pib-4q-2008.aspx
October - December 2008 vs 2007

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http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/connelly/395910_Joel14.html
Seattle needs competing media

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/agency/e3i8bd9b0da7b2e5cc5dd0f0824af55d420
PIB Numbers Tell Tale of Woe
Rate-card reported ad revenue declined more precipitously as the year went on

http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/news/agency/e3ib74aaf21b073f8c76ed2d85d498d1cf0
eMarketer: Newspapers Face Harsh Reality

[doodad]

The few magazines I truly enjoyed just became so left wing and biased I could not subject myself or my family to their ranting. I speak of Nat’l Geo and Smithnsonian. And I told them so at renewal.

Premier Guitar I still get and love.

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I have held my nose the past several years and sent my check in to Nat. Geo. This may be the year I pull the plug.

[babaloo]

In the last month two magazines I love and have subscribed to for years-Cottage Living and Country Home-have closed down.

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http://biz.yahoo.com/ts/090113/10457635.html?.v=1
Fit to Print: Survival in the Newspaper Industry, Part I

[gridlock]

You’re overdue to cancel at National Geographic. I threw in the towel a couple of years ago.

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http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123189862045179953.html
Blockbuster Offers Videos Via Internet

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123190457607380359.html
Actors Guild’s Strike Vote Remains Unresolved

[relictele]

It’s hard to choose between an Eleanor Clift screed and a print ad for a GM ****box I will never consider buying.

[caver]

I wonder how the ad revenue is going for Gun & Ammo magazine and Shotgun News?

[doodad]

I killed it several years ago when my daughter became old enough to start being influenced and the globull warming became the entire reason for the magazine.

I swear Nat Geo could not go one issue without some anti-western comment in some article, never mind the letters or the editors blog. Bunch of commies there.

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I have a collection in my library that goes back to the mid ‘40s. Not a day goes by that I don’t peruse the older issues of the 50s and 60s.

[TheOldLady]

"The few magazines I truly enjoyed just became so left wing and biased I could not subject myself or my family to their ranting. I speak of Nat’l Geo and Smithnsonian. And I told them so at renewal."

I mourn those two. I really, really miss them, but they've been taken over and perverted. They lost subscriptions and several gift subs too.

"Premier Guitar I still get and love."

American Handgunner, America's First Freedom.

[doodad]

Here as well. My grandmother had every issue for years. I have some from the early 1900s with Admiral Perry’s expedition to the North Pole with hand colored prints of photos. Fascinating.

[Gorzaloon]

I swear Nat Geo could not go one issue without some anti-western comment in some article, never mind the letters or the editors blog.

And the rest was "How some rich kids had an exotic vacation."

[Le Chien Rouge]

Sports Illustrated and ESPN have become so “progressive” that I can’t even read the free copy at my gym........

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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/01/micropayments-a.html
Micropayments: A rainbow for journalism...or a Hail Mary?