In its quarterly survey, MediaFinder reported that 97 magazines launched and 29 closed in the first half of 2013.
Once again, the categories most likely to see new titles were “food” and “regional interest.” Notable recent launches included the print magazine for Allrecipes.com and Edible Milwaukee.
The number of titles that shut down dropped significantly when compared to the same period 2012, says MediaFinder, when 48 magazines were shuttered. But new launches also slowed down. The first half of 2012 saw 133 new titles.
“Parenting” was the hardest hit category for shutdowns, says MediaFinder. One of the higher profile examples of this was Bonnier’s sale of Babytalk and Parenting to Meredith, which subsequently absorbed the two titles into its Parents and American Baby brands.
The number of magazine launches has been steadily decreasing, says MediaFinder, which notes that there has also been fewer magazine closings.
In the business-to-business magazine sector there were 14 new titles launched in the first half this year, such as Tonsorial Times, while nine b-to-b magazines closed, including Lodging Hospitality. During the same time period in 2012, 21 new magazines were launched and eight were closed.
