The long, steady decline of print advertising continued in the first quarter of the year, according to the latest figures from the Publishers Information Bureau, which tallied total
magazine ad pages at 28,567 -- down 4% from 29,745 in the first quarter of 2013.
Losses were widespread, with 109 out of 181 titles (or 60% of the total) tracked by the PIB
experiencing year-over-year declines.
Within this group 54 titles -- or 30% of the total -- experienced ad page declines of 10% or more, and 23 -- or 12.7% of the total -- experienced
declines of 20% or more.
Women’s domestic and homemaking titles took some of the biggest hits, with
Martha Stewart Living down 34.8% to 109 ad pages;
Country
Living down 29.2% to 63;
Family Circle down 28.2% to 160;
Better Homes and Gardens down 23.4% to 191;
Ladies’ Home Journal down 22% to 87; and
Good Housekeeping down 18.1% to 212.
The list of big titles that experienced significant declines also included
Rolling Stone, down 27.1% to 139;
Maxim, down 25.3% to 40 ad pages;
Men’s Fitness, down 24.4% to 144;
People Style Watch, down 22.3% to 193;
Lucky, down 19.9% to 141;
Motor Trend,
down 19% to 132;
Entertainment Weekly, down 16.7% to 214; and
Food Network Magazine, down 15.7% to 138.
According to a PIB analysis, two categories -- tech and
retail -- were responsible for 63% of the overall ad page declines.
Taking a longer view, the total figure for ad pages in the first quarter of 2014 represents a 54.4% decline from a
peak value of 52,533 in the first quarter of 2007.
One bright spot: many magazine publishers are reporting strong results in digital advertising delivered as part of tablet editions
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So sad to see this happen. The magazine industry has needed to be transformed for many years. Only the romantic amongst the print publishing industry would continue to believe that "print will return to power". The MPA should have begun a MAJOR initiative 7 years ago...helping publishers embrace digital. Despite all of the clattering about how "tablets magazines don't work"....This industry needs a collective kick in the butt. Ad pages are DOWN over 50% in the last 7 years. Publishing companies need to be transformed to DIGITAL Publishing companies. Continuing decline in print pages means loss of jobs, income etc. Wake Up. Let's get going. New blood needed...desperately.