Newsstand Sales for Top Mags Drop 10% in 2H09

Newsstand sales for consumer magazines fell 10% in the second half of 2009, compared to the same period the previous year, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

That followed an 11% drop in the second half of 2008 compared to 2007, writes MediaPost.

78% of the 115 magazines tracked by the ABC saw newsstand sales decline in the second half of 2009; 50% of the total number of magazines tracked saw declines of over 10%, while 23% saw declines of 20% or more.

The biggest losers included:

• Newsweek, down 42% on the newsstand
• Time, down 35%
• Road & Track, down 34%
• Good Housekeeping, down 31%
• Redbook, down 30%
• Maxim, down 28%
• Ebony, down 28%
• Car and Driver, down 24%

Paid Subscriptions Remain Flat

Despite drops on the newsstand, paid subscriptions remained relatively flat, with total paid subscriptions falling less than 1%.

Total subscriptions, including verified subscriptions, fell 3%.

Ad Pages Sinking but Beginning to Rally

News of the decrease in newsstand sales follow the recent announcement from the Publishers Information Bureau that magazine ad pages plunged 25.6% in 2009 compared to 2008.

The Publishers Information Bureau noted that consumer magazines ad spending was significantly less bad in the first two months of the year than it was throughout 2009, though ad revenue is still falling. In January, ad revenue was down 7.7%, followed by a 7.2% drop in February. That compares with a loss of 18.1% in ad revenue across all consumer magazines in 2009; ad pages plunged 25.6% last year, according to the Publishers Information Bureau.