Page Turners: Major Sports Mags Still Seeing Ad Revenue Decline
Total magazine rate-card-reported advertising revenue for Q3 of '09 closed at $4.5B, an 18.6% decline compared to the previous year, according to data from Publishers Information Bureau (PIB). Among major sports publications, there was similar Q3 decline, with most magazines seeing double-digit drops from '08. Through the first three quarters this year, only Runners World, SI for Kids and Ride BMX have seen single-digit declines compared to the same period a year ago. Seeing the sharpest drop to date is Skiing magazine, down 44% through Q3. The chart below lists ad revenue and ad pages for major sports magazines through Q3, with comparisons to the same period from '08 (PIB).
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SPORTS MAGAZINE SALES: JANUARY-SEPTEMBER '09
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--- AD REVENUE ---
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--- AD PAGES ---
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|
PUBLICATION
|
'09
|
'08
|
% +/-
|
'09
|
'08
|
% +/-
|
|
Sports Illustrated
|
$399,721,699
|
$472,736,575
|
-15.4%
|
1,129.82
|
1,396.54
|
-19.1%
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|
ESPN The Magazine
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$168,066,800
|
$198,525,050
|
-15.3%
|
779.68
|
955.99
|
-18.4%
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|
Golf Magazine
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$110,213,906
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$150,451,957
|
-26.7%
|
653.06
|
934.78
|
-30.1%
|
|
Golf Digest
|
$102,463,005
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$128,740,987
|
-20.4%
|
756.75
|
1,027.30
|
-26.3%
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Runners World
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$50,601,927
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$54,535,072
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-7.2%
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438.76
|
525.18
|
-16.5%
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| Golf World |
$29,818,362
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$37,126,217
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-19.7%
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815.83
|
1,077.04
|
-24.3%
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| Bicycling |
$26,106,807
|
$32,692,540
|
-20.1%
|
424.40
|
575.58
|
-26.3%
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| Cycle World |
$26,055,485
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$30,490,039
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-14.5%
|
527.75
|
620.84
|
-15.0%
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| Transworld Skateboarding |
$21,451,441
|
$25,502,372
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-15.9%
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975.87
|
1,211.21
|
-19.4%
|
| Tennis |
$16,213,843
|
$21,265,947
|
-23.8%
|
309.01
|
414.08
|
-25.4%
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| Sporting News* |
$16,041,675
|
$23,288,128
|
-31.1%
|
248.36
|
370.30
|
-32.9%
|
| Transworld Snowboarding |
$11,871,253
|
$13,793,471
|
-13.9%
|
585.99
|
788.20
|
-25.7%
|
| SI for Kids |
$10,113,004
|
$10,536,600
|
-4.0%
|
114.58
|
123.23
|
-7.0%
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| Transworld Motocross |
$8,939,871
|
$10,471,701
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-14.6%
|
712.96
|
876.70
|
-18.7%
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| Transworld Surf |
$7,366,709
|
$10,591,530
|
-30.4%
|
670.55
|
1,012.73
|
-33.8%
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| Ski |
$6,690,244
|
$10,467,113
|
-36.1%
|
156.45
|
198.49
|
-21.2%
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| Skiing |
$3,520,756
|
$6,284,528
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-44.0%
|
109.13
|
144.52
|
-24.5%
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| Ride BMX |
$3,450,252
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$3,590,743
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-3.9%
|
350.85
|
382.52
|
-8.3%
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NOTE: * = Sporting News changed frequency from weekly to bi-weekly when it relaunched on September 1, 2008.
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