New York, NY - Total magazine rate-card-reported advertising revenue for the first quarter of 2010 closed at $4,045,091,620, posting a 3.9% decline against the same period in 2009, according to Publishers Information Bureau (PIB).  Ad pages during the first quarter totaled 34,794.94, at -9.4% compared to January through March, 2009.

First Quarter 2010 vs. 2009
Magazines saw PIB ad revenue and page growth in three of 12 major advertising categories during the first quarter of 2010: Automotive; Financial, Insurance & Real Estate; and Toiletries & Cosmetics. (Twelve categories are the most significant contributors to PIB revenue, comprising more than 85% of total advertising spending.)  This marks the first time since 2007, when PIB moved to a quarterly reporting schedule, that the Auto category has posted an increase in both revenue and pages. The gains were driven primarily by Detroit activity. Cosmetics, personal hygiene and hair products boosted the Toiletries category, while credit cards and banking contributed to the growth in Finance.

Other major categories saw an ad spending uptick within subsectors in Q1: pharmaceutical companies and fitness/diet programs in Drugs & Remedies; footwear, jewelry and other clothing accessories in Apparel & Accessories; branded clothing shops and discount department stores in Retail; household appliances, supplies and cleansers in Home Furnishings & Supplies; and communications companies in Technology.

In the first quarter, 85 magazines posted an increase in ad pages, compared to 15 magazines during the same period in 2009. One hundred and one magazines registered PIB revenue gains in Q1, versus 28 titles in the same period of last year.

"The picture was brighter with an increase in major categories posting ad page and revenue growth, despite softness overall," said Ellen Oppenheim, Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer, Magazine Publishers of America. "In addition, almost six times as many titles generated ad page gains compared to first quarter of 2009, another sign of industry improvement. The positive trending in pages and revenue suggests that second quarter performance for magazines will be stronger.