Magazines Revenues, Ad Pages Drop in 1Q 2008; Trade Shows, Digital Revenues Up
By: Mitra Hooman
American Business Media has released first quarter 2008 figures for the 21 Business Information Network [BIN] categories that it tracks. ABM has found a decline of 5.3% in magazine revenues compared to first quarter 2007 on a decline in ad pages of 7.3% compared to the first three months of last year. At the same time, trade show revenue in the first quarter of 2008 was $2.98 billion, up 1.5% from $2.94 billion in the same period 2007. Digital media revenues for all of 2007 reached an estimated $4.3 billion, but 1Q figures are not yet compiled.
Gordon T. Hughes II, ABM’s president and CEO, said in a press release, “Given the state of the economy, the growth of two of our three major platforms continues to encourage us about the future of the business-to-business industry.”
Looking at magazines’ revenue by BIN category, 16 of the 21 were down in the first three months of 2008 compared to the first quarter of 2007. The biggest losers were: Automotive (off 14.42%); Electronic Engineering (down 13.27%); Computing, Software and Telecom (lower by 10.32%); and Resources, Environment and Utilities (down 10.15%). The five rising categories were: Aviation, Aerospace, Military (climbing 10.15%); Agriculture (up 3.99%); Manufacturing Processing (higher by 3.82%); Professional Services (better by 2.22%); and Architecture, Design and Lighting (up 2.14%).
Underlying these revenue declines was a significant drop in ad pages, a 7.3% decline. Here, only 3 of the 21 BIN categories saw increases in first quarter 2008 against first quarter 2007. The trio of rising stars: Aviation, Aerospace, Military (up 7.33%); Manufacturing Processing (up 2.37%); and Travel, Business Conventions and Meetings (up 0.09% -- almost a rounding error). Among those losing ad pages, 7 suffered double digit losses: Healthcare (down 12.97%); Movies, Radio, TV & Video (lower by 11.39%); Software and Telecom (off 11.01%); Transportation, Logistics tied with Resources, Environment and Utilities (both falling 10.45%); and Electronic Engineering (slipped 10.35%); and Automotive (off 10.07%).
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