• by Erik Sass , May 16, 2006

Magazine ad pages and revenue rose in April 2006 compared to the same month last year--with a small increase in ad pages (1.4 percent) paired with a more substantial climb in ad revenue (5.1 percent) to close at more than $2 billion, according to the Publishers Information Bureau (PIB). Compared with 2005, total ad pages for the first four months of 2006 are up .7 percent, and revenue is up 4.5 percent for a total of almost $7 billion.

After recent shake-ups including Conde Nast's closing of Celebrity Living and Cargo, and rumors that Maxim Publisher Felix Dennis plans to sell the publication amid a precipitous decline in ad pages, the PIB data is a shot in the arm for an industry that's been a favorite target of gloomy predictions about the future of print.

Automotive particularly weak In a report issued this morning, Merrill Lynch print media analyst Karl Choi cited an especially troubling sign, noting that the giant automotive ad category was "particularly" weak. "After a brief respite in March (up 8 percent in ad pages), automotive ad pages returned to a down trend, down 16.2 percent in April, making it the weakest category among the top 12 categories. Seven of the top 12 advertising categories posted a drop in ad pages in April."

Categories leading growth in April 2006 included retail, drugs and remedies, technology, and toiletry and cosmetics--many of which enjoyed double-digit increases in both ad pages and revenue over last year.

Retail led revenue with a 32.4 percent jump in revenue and a 20.2 percent jump in ad pages. Drugs and remedies followed with 20.1 percent growth in revenue and a 15.9 percent growth in ad pages. Technology was next with a 16.9 percent revenue increase and 13.3 percent more ad pages. Last, toiletries and cosmetics revenue rose 18.2 percent, and ad pages rose 9.9 percent.