Tired of celebrity coverage? Millions of readers can't get enough - and neither can advertisers. Publishers of celebrity magazines that once looked to newsstand and checkout-aisle sales for almost all of their revenue are now experiencing surges in subscriptions and ad sales, bringing in the kind of money that could make a movie star jealous.

Us Weekly's ad pages are up nearly 25 percent in the last year, and at Star Magazine, ads are up almost 17 percent, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. In Touch Weekly's ads have risen nearly 22 percent.

Advertisers are finding star-focused magazines to be advertising-friendly environments. "People typically read those magazines front to back, and that's always a good thing for an advertiser," said Bill Koenigsberg, chief executive of Horizon Media, an ad agency based in New York. Mr. Koenigsberg added that more advertisers had become interested in reaching women, who make up the bulk of celebrity magazine readership. Most ads in these magazines were traditionally for beauty products and other goods aimed at women. Now a wider range of advertisers want to be there, publishers said.

American Media Inc., which publishes Star, and the Bauer Publishing Company, which owns Life and Style Weekly and In Touch, are recording increases in ads for cars, pharmaceuticals and consumer electronics. Schering-Plough, for example, recently ran an ad for its drug Nasonex in Star and in Inside TV, which is published by Gemstar-TV Guide International. Canon is advertising its digital cameras in the current issue of In Touch Weekly.

Us Weekly's publisher, Vicci Lasdon Rose, said she had noticed a change in interest among car companies and electronics makers. "As recently as five years ago, I can remember them telling me they appreciate the female consumer, but they would likely not market to them," Ms. Rose said.

The advertisers are responding in part to rising circulation. Average total sales of Star, People, Us Weekly and In Touch Weekly combined were up 11.6 percent at the end of last year from 2003, with Star and In Touch sales rising about 80 percent, according to data from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

--We already knew Americans were gossiphounds though, right? I mean, why else would you read MP&S?

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