09 Aug 10
August 2010 Press Update
All the latest news in the world of press.
Market Update:
The uplift in national press revenues in June around the World Cup has continued in to July, with revenues up +14.8%. Three key sectors are responsible for driving that growth – Retail, Motors and Finance. Performance is divided between the strong and the weak publishers however, the market leaders are confident that the market will remain buoyant throughout 2010.
Media owners are confident that revenues will remain buoyant for the rest of the year,
The Magazine market is having a better year than 2009 in terms of advertising revenues, though some sectors are faring better than others. The Teens and Men’s Weeklies suffered heavy decreases in July, with each down -30%. The latest ABC circulation figures will be released Mid-August, and the press team will be sending out a separate update on these figures towards the end of August.
New Innovation:
Haymarket Publishing will launch the official ‘X Factor’ magazine after agreeing a deal with Simon Cowell’s production company. The weekly title will launch in September to coincide with the seventh series of the popular TV show and will contain editorial on all mainstream pop news, not just X-Factor contestants. The magazine is planned to publish all year long and not just when the show is airing. It will be exclusively sold by Tesco for the launch period with an achievable target of 300,000 before nationwide distribution across all retailers.
Richard Desmond's Northern & Shell company - which owns both the Express and Star newspapers and celeb magazines OK!, New & Star - has bought Channel Five from RTL for £103.5 million. Desmond plans to transform the channel using entertainment and celebrity programme formats poached from other channels. Desmond acquired the Express & Star group of newspapers in 2000, and quickly implemented heavy cost cutting measures including redundancies across both advertising and editorial departments. He has been successful in turning a loss-making business into a profitable one, so do not be surprised to see a similar approach with Channel Five.
On 10th July The Daily Mirror and Daily Record ran a CD cover-mount of the Prince album – 20TEN. This is said by Trinity Mirror to have added 334,000 and 45,000 respectively to the circulation for those issues, however these types of promotions have proven unsuccessful at attracting loyal readers & driving repeat purchase. This is the second time Prince has used a National Newspaper to distribute his CD, the Mail On Sunday previously cover-mounted ‘Planet Earth’ in 2007.
ShortList Media has launched a £52-a-year subscription service for each of its free magazines, ShortList and Stylist. This will target consumers who miss out on the handouts around the major commuter locations - uptake is expected to be minimal.
Toy Story magazine launched on 21st July from Egmont Publishing. The 24 page monthly publication is priced at £3.50 and is aimed at children aged 4-8. The initial print run is 100,000 per issue and its launch coincides with the release of Toy Story 3 in cinemas.
Loaded Magazine has given its brand name to an energy drink produced by Podium Brands called the Loaded Stamina Shot. This brand extension launching in November will be priced at £1.99 and will feature Loaded cover girl India Reynolds on the bottle.
Additional news:
TV chef and restaurant owner Gary Rhodes is rolling out a bespoke magazine via contract publishers MMC Media, with the first issue coming in August, which marks the celebrity chef's 30th anniversary in the restaurant business. ‘Rhodes’ will be a monthly magazine with a print run of 20,000 and will be available for free at Rhodes’ restaurants.
The National Magazine Company has agreed to be a media partner for 10:10, the project which aims to achieve a 10% cut in the UK’s carbon emissions in 2010. This is the second print media partner following The Guardian’s commitment to the project. Both publishers will use their publications and websites to raise awareness of the campaign and the global action day – 10.10.10.
After 10 years the Independent has cancelled its weekly education supplement published on Thursdays. The move will reduce costs and the editorial content has been moved into the main paper.
American business magnate, chat show host and iconic homemaker Martha Stewart is licensing her monthly magazine Martha Stewart Living to a British publisher Pizzazz Media for a UK edition. The magazine will launch in September and follows the successful syndication of her TV shows to over 70 countries worldwide.
Haymarket is re-launching What Car? magazine in September issue with a new 40-page buyers guide added. The A-Z section will include rates and pictures of every car currently on sale in the UK.
Future's Metal Hammer is to celebrate Iron Maiden's studio album 'The Final Frontier' the band's first for four years, with a 3D cover depicting Iron Maiden's mascot Eddie. The cover was collaboratively created with Iron Maiden themselves.
Shortlist Magazine produced 4 different cover-wraps on 28th July edition to celebrate the release of The A-Team in cinemas. Each wrap is dedicated to one of the four main characters.