Germany: Magazines are profitable

The advertising business for German magazines has developed better than expected. With an increase of 8.7 percent, magazines recorded the highest growth rates of all advertising media. This means that magazine publishers can look back on a good business performance for the first time in five years. However, sales increased primarily on the Internet. The Association of German Magazine Publishers (VDZ) is forecasting growth of 2 percent for 2007. Companies are once again investing more in image advertising and magazines are benefiting from this in particular. Publishers have high hopes for digital business models in the coming year, especially for new technological developments such as mobile cell phone services and Internet TV. 55 percent of publishers expect higher sales in the Internet business.