Celebrity magazines – at least in the United States – may be an endangered species. There is a prediction that several will soon disappear.
At one time there was only one major celebrity-oriented magazine in the US: People. Now there are at least half a dozen.
According to a survey published in Media Life, the field has become drastically overcrowded. Some titles, it is feared, will inevitably go.
The most vulnerable, according to Media Life, is the US version of OK which was launched here in 2005.
Backed reportedly by a commitment of at least $100 million, the magazine seemed to have high hopes.
But, according to Media Life, it was late in the field and to this day remains something of an after-thought in the minds of most advertisers.
Next on the endangered list is Life & Style, a Bauer publication that was an offshoot of In Touch – one of the more successful publications in recent years. In fact In Touch is considered one of the least vulnerable of the celebrity mags, somewhat ahead if of US which only a small percentage – about 3 per cent – of people polled by the magazine regarded as endangered.
The least endangered is People magazine.
People is also the most respected of the American celebrity magazines. It was considered the best of the bunch for scoops, accuracy and regarded as the most fun to read by almost half of Media Life’s readers, US came in second. The Star ranked third.
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