losing the midas touch?

Oprah’s O Magazine Sees Ads Drop 31.4 Percent

Hearst’s second-most-profitable title, O, the Oprah Magazine, had a lot farther to fall than most. While the magazine industry as a whole saw ad sales drop 7 percent for this upcoming August, per the Media Industry Newsletter, O’s were down almost a third. Partly that’s because the women’s lifestyle category is particularly hard hit, with Martha Stewart Living’s numbers down 14 percent and EveryDay with Rachael Ray down 25 percent. But while most publications regained their footing in September, O’s ad pages for that month were still 18 percent down from last year. Staggering as those numbers are, fleeing advertisers may signal a more distressing exodus of readers. And with her talk show wrapped up and her budding OWN cable network experiencing some serious growing pains, what Oprah needs more than anything else right now are captive eyeballs. [NYP]

Oprah’s O Magazine Sees Ads Drop 31.4 Percent