Hispanic Magazines Post Double-Digit Ad Gains, But Not All Are Thriving

Just a few months ago, a Publisher was talking about expanding Tu Ciudad, the Los Angeles city magazine he started three years ago, to New York and Miami.

Instead, the June-July 2008 issue was the last for Tu Ciudad, as partner Emmis Publishing pulled the plug. With Emmis' radio-division revenue sliding and cash flow shrinking, the company could no longer afford the $1 million Tu Ciudad was budgeted to lose in 2008 on the way to breaking even by 2010.

Although the English-language Latino magazine didn't meet an ad-sales-growth target of 45% for the first half of 2008, the Publisher said sales still were up 20%. He added that they left a lot of money on the table for the third and fourth quarters.

Among Hispanic media, the magazine category is posting double-digit ad-revenue gains, but not every title is growing, and some, such as Tu Ciudad and Estylo, an 11-year-old, bilingual Latin entertainment and style magazine whose final issue was June 2008, are closing.