Independent Media launches world-famous publication

In December, the Ukrainian version of the international popular science magazine National Geographic will be published in Ukraine. Yesterday, the publishing house Independent Media Sanova Magazines, which until now sold the Russian version of this publication in our country, announced that it had received a license to publish National Geographic in Ukrainian. The magazine's main competitor will be the current segment leader, Around the World.

The first issue of the world-famous National Geographic magazine in Ukrainian will be published in December, Independent Media CEO Yulia Stefanishina announced yesterday. Until now, Independent sold the Russian edition of the publication in Ukraine. The starting circulation of the monthly with a volume of 186-172 pages will be 25 thousand copies, the retail price is 15 UAH. About 70% of the publication's content will consist of articles from international issues of the magazine, 30% - articles from the Ukrainian editorial staff. “It’s extremely difficult to find photographers—National Geographic is known primarily for its photographs,” complains Ms. Stefanishina.

The magazine of the US National Geographic Society, National Geographic, is published in 23 languages with a total circulation of 9.5 million copies. Readership: more than 40 million people. The company also owns the National Geographic Channel, which airs in 145 countries and has an audience of about 160 million people.

The Independent does not expect the publication to become widespread. “This is a niche project, but it will become a leader in its segment,” Yulia Stefanishina is sure. “If GEO is aimed at a youth audience, and Around the World is aimed at readers who remember Soviet times, then we are aimed at educated people aged 30- 35 years old who are interested in something educational. I think we won’t step on each other’s toes.” The company does not disclose the cost of the license to publish the magazine, noting only that investments in the project are “comparable to investments in a glossy magazine.”

General Director of the Hachette Philipacchi Shkulev Publishing House Sergei Miroshnichenko suggests that investments in the launch of National Geographic amounted to about $3 million, of which $200 thousand went into distribution. According to the director of the UMH Publishing House Tatyana Efimenko, only a license from the US National Geographic Society could cost approximately $100 thousand as a starting payment and 5-10% of monthly income. In this case, the project can reach payback in about three years, Mr. Miroshnichenko predicts. “Independent always carefully considers the launch of projects. I am confident that the publication will be of interest to both readers and advertisers,” he notes.

Market participants call the main competitor of National Geographic in Ukraine the magazine Around the World, which is published by the Kartel Publishing House. According to TNS, its audience for six months amounted to 2.3% (of the total print media audience), while National Geographic was not included in the study at all. In Russia, where both magazines are published, the gap between them is quite large: the National Geographic audience is 0.6%, and Around the World is 6.4%. “In addition, Independent chose not the best moment to launch a project of this scale,” says Alexander Antonets, Chairman of the Board of Cartel CJSC. “The print market is on the verge of stagnation due to the general financial crisis.”

Irina Kommersant-Mironova

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