Big Magazines, Big Business - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

THE INDISPENSABLE, COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE FINANCIAL HEALTH AND AUDIENCE REACH OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL MAGAZINES IN THE WORLD.

For the magazine industry, 1999 was another year that was weirdly Dickensian. Certainly it was the best of times for magazines in terms of ad sales, as dot.com companies pumped more money into print and ad pages for many books swelled. (Publishers weren't particularly spooked by the market correction in April among Internet stocks; some even welcomed the shakeup.) But an argument can be made that 1999 was also the worst of times, what with continued wholesaler consolidation, sharpened competition for eyeballs from the same dot.com companies scrambling to get between magazine covers, and--perhaps most troubling--an erosion in circulation wrought by stampsheet reform.

The numbers often tell the story. Circulation figures were not encouraging: 204 of the FOLIO: 500 titles had total circulation gains, down from 252 in 1998; and 163 of the titles registered losses, up from 132 in 1998. "It's time for quality versus quantity;" says Ted Gramkow, publisher of Red Herring. "If you have an ability to deliver a valuable message to your audience--and have won them over without any cheap pricing promotion--then the advertisers will stay with you."

The Internet-focused magazines were blistering in 1999, dwarfing what's generally considered solid returns by non-Web titles. To name a few of the leaders: Bay Area-based Red Herring is up 53 percent in revenues and 93 percent in circulation; Business 2.0 is up 213 percent in revenue and 48 percent in circulation; and Yahoo! Internet Life is up 163 percent in revenue and 65 percent in circulation. Fast Company shows no sign of slowing down: It's up 20 percent in revenues and 49 percent in circulation.

Despite a downturn in circulation for a growing number of magazines--and published reports of yet another battle brewing between publishers and advertisers, this one over precisely how to define "paid" circulation--revenues remain on the upswing, albeit slightly. The FOLIO: 500 list generated total revenues of $27.6 billion, up from $26.1 billion in 1998 and $24.9 billion in 1997.

Our top-10 list isn't much of a departure from 1998. Even with an 11 percent drop in circulation, number-one TV Guide still commands an enormous audience. Ditto for Reader's Digest--down 12 percent in circulation. Time Inc.'s People, Time and Sports Illustrated take up their usual slots in the upper tier of the top 10. Business Week is a newcomer in the mix, climbing up from 15 in 1998.

METHODOLOGY: The FOLIO: 500 was prepared by the New York City accounting firm of Leslie Sufrin and Company, P.C. Total revenues were extrapolated from published circulation and advertising rates and do not reflect discounting; accordingly, revenues may not reflect actual revenues as reported on the publications' financial statements. Ad page totals were obtained from Competitive Media Reporting, CMR Business-to-Business, Patterson Advertising Reports Inc., Adscope, PERQ/HCI and confirmations received directly from the publishers. Circulation totals were obtained from ABC, BPA International and confirmations received directly from the publishers. Advertising rates were obtained from SRDS and confirmations received directly from the publishers. Publishers were asked to verify this information via fax. The listings are based solely on the above sources. Magazines not tracked by these sources or those with insufficient information obtained from various sources may have been excluded. Special thanks to Marta Juchn iewicz and Serguei Shorin at Leslie Sufrin.

In addition to the FOLIO: 500, we include an alphabetical list of the magazines; an index that groups magazines by publisher; and a page of the top- 10 titles in a handful of the industry's most closely watched categories.

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