Ad Pages Plummet 25.9 Percent

But hey, revenues for consumer magazines only dropped 20.2 percent!

According to the Publishers Information Bureau, ad pages during the first quarter of 2009 totaled 37,196.43, down 25.9 percent from just a year before. Those ads took in $4,183,426,592 in revenue, declining little more than 20 percent.

Each of the top 12 categories, which make up more than 85 of total revenue, fell.

There were a few winners, including Muscle + Fitness — which jumped 19.1 percent — and OK!, which gained 22.4 percent.

Hearst announced plans to bump up its closing date for ads, starting with Cosmopolitan. Jeff Hamill, a senior VP, said the magazine would begin accepting advertisements up to five weeks before the book’s on-sale date and would soon shorten that to three weeks.

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