Professional Publishing Industry Projected To Grow To $13.6 Billion In 2000

Posted on November 17, 2000

On the heels of last month's announcement that Reed Elsevier would acquire Harcourt General in what was arguably the most influential deal in professional publishing this year, Simba Information, a unit of Primedia Inc., has released a new report that takes an in-depth look at the professional publishing industry.

According to the report, Publishing for Professional Markets: 2000-2001 Review, Trends & Forecast, the North American professional publishing industry will grow to $13.6 billion in 2000, an increase of 5.2% from 1999. The report estimates that revenues for the North American professional publishing industry will reach $16.2 billion in 2003.

Publishing for Professional Markets provides rankings and key statistics for the leaders in each segment of the professional publishing industry, including traditional publishers such as Reed, Harcourt, McGraw-Hill and John Wiley & Sons, and online players such as WebMD and Loislaw.com. The report also discusses trends affecting all areas of the industry, as professional publishers continue to adjust to their customers' steady migration from print to Internet-based products.

``Those involved in professional publishing claim that now is an exciting time to be in this business--and the reasons for that are plentiful,'' said Marji McClure, report author and editor of its companion newsletter, Professional Publishing Report, also published by Simba Information. ``The need for professional information continues to grow as job responsibilities become more complicated. And the demand for publishing that information in a variety of formats is growing at an equally fast pace.''

According to the report, books continue to be the largest media segment by revenues in professional publishing, comprising a projected $4.98 billion in 2000. Online and Internet Services are second with projected revenues of $2.6 billion in 2000.