PIB: Economic Woes Send Mag Ad Revs, Pages Downward In Q1
This story was written by David Kaplan.
The economic downturn is having a notable affect on magazines, as rate-card-reported ad revenues for Q1 came in at $5.2 billion, a 1.2 percent decline from the previous year, according to Publishers Information Bureau. Ad pages for the 231 pubs measured by PIB during the quarter totaled 49,166, a 6.4 drop versus Q107. Drugs, food and apparel were the top three magazine ad spend categories. To show the dismal state of magazine advertising finds itself, in Q107, PIB rate-card ad revs grew by 6.9 percent over the prior year's period, as ad pages were flat year-over-year. Looking 2007 as a whole, magazine rate-card revs gained 6.1 percent over 2006, as ad pages saw a small decrease of 0.6 percent. None of the industry groups track online ad spending for magazines, so it's difficult to say how much the internet is impacting the industry. Still, in terms of ad growth by category, ZenithOptimedia forecast in December that online would overtake magazines in terms of the the share of ad dollars by 2010. Release
By David Kaplan