Magazine Ad Pages Slip, Celeb Titles Hit Hard

Print advertising is dwindling at consumer magazines. The Publishers Information Bureau released figures showing total magazine ad pages fell 4.9% from 33,673 in the first quarter of 2012 to 32,023 in the first quarter of 2013.

Of 213 titles tracked by the PIB, 107 (50%) experienced ad page declines in the first quarter of 2013 compared to the same period in 2012, with 67 titles (31.5%) experiencing declines of 10% or more, and 26 titles (12.2%) experiencing declines of 20% or more.

Although many categories suffered in the first quarter, women’s interest titles took especially heavy hits, with the lifestyle, domestic, and celebrity categories posting big losses.

In the domestic category, the list of titles experiencing year-over-year declines in the first quarter included Ladies’ Home Journal, down 28.5% to 122 ad pages; Family Circle, down 14.4% to 222; and Better Homes and Gardens, down 11.9% to 249. In women’s lifestyle titles, Woman’s Day was down 11.9% to 240, while Redbook fell 10.7% to 216.

In celebrity and fashion weeklies, OK Weekly was down 22.4% to 263 ad pages; In Touch Weekly was down 21.5% to 127; Life & Style Weekly was down 19.7% to 106; and Star was down 17.7% to 274.

In other categories, significant ad page losses were seen at Forbes, down 19.6% to 266; Food & Wine, down 11.8% to 159; Maxim, down 36% to 53; and New York, down 17.7% to 422.

  Advertising, Celebrity, Magazine, Media, Print, Publishers Information Bureau, Rates