Ad Revenue Follows Circulation Down At J17

ABC results for the six months to December revealed a lacklustre performance for the BBC’s J17, which appeared to bear the brunt of the bad news in the fickle teenage market, with circulation declining by 20.5% year on year to 143,308 (see ABC Jul-Dec 2002: New Launches Shake-Up Teen Market). Figures from Nielsen Media Research have also brought little cheer to the title, with display ad revenue declining by 15.4% year on year to £1.7 million.

Emap’s Smash Hits also fared poorly and added an 8.6% year on year decline in ad revenue to a more substantial 10.8% drop in circulation during the second half of last year. However, the title continued to command the largest share of the sector’s display ad revenue, taking at £3,799,600 between July and December 2002.

Elsewhere, Hachette Filipacchi’s Sugar, which leads the teen field in terms of circulation, proved that its blend of beauty, fashion and entertainment is not immune to the difficult economic conditions. The title saw display ad revenue slip by 7.8% year on year in the six months to December, with circulation declining by 16.6% year on year during the same period.

Meanwhile, DC Thompson & Co’s Shout managed to offset a 9.1% year on year decline in circulation with a healthy 44.4% increase in ad revenue, which stood at £448,295 for the July to December 2002 period.

However, it was Natmags’ CosmoGIRL! which saw the sector’s most significant upward movement in terms of ad revenue, which rose by 216% year on year to just over £2 million. This unusually high increase is due, in part, to the fact that the magazine launched mid-way through the second half of 2001 causing display ad revenue for the July to December 2002 period to be relatively low.

CosmoGIRL! reported a circulation figure of 142,073 for the six months to December 2002, placing it just behind the BBC’s J17 and just ahead of IPC’s Mizz.

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