Celebrity Obsession Lifts Ad Revenue At Now
The latest ABC consumer magazine figures for July to December 2002 confirmed the extent of the current obsession with the lives or the rich and famous, with IPC’s Now seeing circulation rise by an impressive 14% year on year to 630,212 (see ABC Jul-Dec 2002: IPC’s Chat Boosts Women’s Weeklies (Non-Subscribers)). Figures from Nielsen Media Research also reveal a successful period for the magazine, which saw display ad revenue increase by 2.2% year on year to almost £5.8 million.
Chat‘s take on the celebrity scene proved slightly less lucrative for IPC and despite seeing circulation increase by 15.6% in the six months to December, the magazine saw ad revenue slip by 3.2% during the same period to £4.6 million.
However, Lady saw the most notable upward movement in terms of ad revenue, which increased by 5.9% year on year to £651,737. The magazine, which has the smallest share of the sector’s total ad revenue, saw circulation fall by 4.8% year on year in the second half of 2002.
At the other end of the scale, H Bauer’s more traditionally focussed Bella added a 6.8% year on year drop in ad revenue to a notable 8.8% decline in circulation, which was down to 427,855.
IPC’s Woman’s Own, which saw circulation dip by 0.2% in the six months to December, continued to command the sector’s greatest share of display ad revenue. Despite experiencing an 11.4% year on year decline, the magazine took £11.6 million worth of display advertising in the latter half of last year.
The UK’s highest circulating women’s weekly magazine, Take A Break, saw revenue decline by 5.2% year on year to £9.6 million. The magazine had a more positive period in terms of circulation, which increased by 4.9% to 1,204,577 in the six months to December.
| Women’s Weekly Magazines: Year On Year % Change In Ad Revenue (£) | |||||
| Title | Publisher | Jul-Dec 2001 | Jul-Dec 2002 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Bella | H Bauer Publishing | 7,431,993 | 6,926,310 | -505,683 | -6.8 |
| Best | National Magazine Company | 9,123,199 | 8,926,062 | -197,137 | -2.2 |
| Chat | IPC Media | 4,745,744 | 4,593,314 | -152,430 | -3.2 |
| Closer (Launched 01/09/02) | Emap | n/a | 786,524 | n/a | n/a |
| Lady | Lady | 615,524 | 651,737 | 36,213 | 5.9 |
| My Weekly | DC Thomson & Co | 2,399,238 | 2,258,904 | -140,334 | -5.8 |
| Now | IPC Media | 5,652,433 | 5,776,431 | 123,998 | 2.2 |
| People’s Friend | DC Thomson & Co | 3,752,230 | 3,634,179 | -118,051 | -3.1 |
| Take A Break | H Bauer Publishing | 10,103,230 | 9,581,070 | -522,160 | -5.2 |
| That’s Life | H Bauer Publishing | 2,943,672 | 2,912,220 | -31,452 | -1.1 |
| Woman | IPC Media | 11,649,191 | 11,022,597 | -626,594 | -5.4 |
| Woman’s Own | IPC Media | 13,095,405 | 11,606,664 | -1,488,741 | -11.4 |
| Women’s Weekly | IPC Media | 5,128,536 | 5,169,563 | 41,027 | 0.8 |
| Total | 76,640,395 | 73,845,575 | -2,794,820 | -3.6 | |
| *Only includes display ads – not classifieds | |||||
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