Sky Magazine has the largest circulation of any magazine in the Republic. While not sold in shops, the magazine is sent monthly by An Post to 297,000 Sky Digital subscribers. This compares with 113,687 for the RTE Guide, which retains the largest sale in the State.
Negotiations have commenced with Irish printers with a view to printing the Sky title here. The contract would be worth about € 1 million annually and a deal is expected to be agreed in the next few months.
The magazine is currently printed in Germany. If an Irish printer can be lined up, the Irish content will be expanded.
The magazine is produced for the British and Irish markets by John Brown Citrus Publishing.
While primarily filled with British editorial, the magazine does have an Irish editor and Irish-related copy is included. Irish advertising is taken and its rate card would be at the premium end of the sector, with a full page of colour costing approximately €6,400, according to agencies.
However, with a reach approaching 300,000 homes, listing-based titles such as the RTE Guide and TV Now face major competition from Sky.
Mr Andrew Hirsch, chief executive of John Citrus, says the main competition for the title comes from the weekend and Sunday newspaper TV supplements.
Mr Hirsch says, in the earlier days of the magazine, some embarrassing mistakes were made, like using the phrase "Boxing Day" instead of "St Stephen's Day".
"We decided after that we needed an Irish editor," he says.
The magazine's pitch to advertisers is that direct mailing means zero wastage. Its future growth and ability to take on the more-established magazine players will probably depend on whether Sky can push its subscriber base beyond 300,000.
Base analysis
The Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI) has unveiled its new advertising expenditure analysis tool, known as Base (breakdown of advertising share and expenditure).
Developed by Scope Solutions, Base replaces the adspend report, which has been used by agencies over the past eight years.
Further information on the system is available by accessing the IAPI website at www.iapi.com
TMP wins 2m account
After a long competitive tender process, TMP Advertising has won the €2 million recruitment advertising account for the Republic's health boards. TMP is a division of Monster Worldwide.
The account involves buying space on behalf of 10 health boards, usually in the press sector. TMP will also be responsible for the creative element of the account. The health boards are believed to have pushed for a significant reduction in recruitment advertising spend.
eoliver@irish-times.ie
