• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, September 21, 2009

October brought no relief for consumer magazines, with monthlies posting a 20.1% drop in ad pages compared to the same month last year, contributing to a total decline of 22% in the first 10 months of 2009, according to new figures from the Media Industry Newsletter.

Coming on top of a dismal September -- traditionally a big month for magazines -- the October numbers bode ill for any potential turnaround in the crucial fourth-quarter holiday season.

As in previous months, ad pages at monthly magazines were down across the board, affecting every category and virtually every major title. Out of 155 monthly titles tracked by MIN, 131 (84.5%) saw ad pages decline in October; of these, 111 (71.6% of the total) saw ad pages decline more than 10% for the month, 76 (49%) saw ad pages decline more than 20%, 42 (27.1%) saw ad pages decline more than 30%, and 22 (14.2%) saw ad pages decline more than 40%.

In year-to-date figures, 143 out of 155 titles (92.3%) have posted declines in the first 10 months of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. Of these, 132 (85.2% of the total) saw ad pages decline more than 10% for the year to date, 86 (55.5%) saw ad pages decline more than 20%, 37 (23.4%) saw ad pages decline more than 30%, and 14 (9%) saw ad pages decline more than 40%.

Among the few monthly magazines that have enjoyed growth for the year to date are Family Circle, up 13.9% to 1411 ad pages; Fitness, up 11.7% to 665; Flex, up 8.8% to 2,254; Saveur, up 8.3% to 285; and Muscle & Fitness, up 6.9% to 1,725. Ladies' Home Journal was basically flat with a modest 0.5% increase to 1,024.

The crowd of big magazines taking hits over 30% for the year to date -- listed in order of their percentage losses -- include Architectural Digest, down 49.4% to 657; Veranda, down 47.4% to 420; W, down 45.5% to 867; Town & Country, down 45.2% to 676; Conde Nast Traveler, down 45.1% to 722; Dwell, down 45% to 525; Wired, down 43.2% to 502; Gourmet, down 42.7% to 430; Ebony, down 40.1% to 485; National Geographic Traveler, down 39.7% to 302; Men's Journal, down 39% to 620; Scientific American, down 37.2% to 192; Automobile, down 36% to 409; Teen Vogue, down 35.5% to 594; Vanity Fair, down 34.9% to 1,013; Kiplinger's Personal Finance, down 34.1% to 230; Details, down 33.7% to 627; Motor Trend, down 33.6% to 585; Fast Company, down 33.4% to 315; Vogue, down 33% to 1,650; Metropolitan Home, down 32.6% to 541; Allure, down 32.5% to 947; GQ, down 32.2% to 886; Bon Appetit, down 31.9% to 676; National Geographic Adventure, down 31.9% to 268; Playboy, down 30.8% to 244; and O, the Oprah Magazine, down 30.5% to 1,039.

The October numbers constitute a slight improvement over September, when a monthly drop of 23.6% contributed to a year-to-date drop of 22.3%. However, the results are compounding double-digit losses in October 2008, the first full month to feel the impact of advertiser retrenchment after the broader financial meltdown in September of last year.