Slifkin left in 1984; having lost interest in reviewing adult movies due to the industry's transition from film to videos.

When Forbes asked AVN how it arrived at this figure, Mike Ramone the managing editor at the time responded, "I don't know the exact methodology...

Adams Media Research noted that no one tracked the adult video business with rigor or precision and that the most generous estimate of sales and rentals combined was $1.8 billion.

[12] According to Michael Goodman of the Yankee Group, it is difficult to estimate for an industry where few companies are public and new providers continually appear.

[22] David Foster Wallace skeptically noted that AVN, in 1997, reviewed over 4,000 new releases in every category in comparison to the 375 films that the Academy Awards were required to see for the Oscars.

[25] Sports columnist Bill Simmons commented that the Awards were "the most secretly captivating telecasts on TV" alongside the National Spelling Bee and Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

[24] AVN also sponsors the GayVN Awards which are presented annually to honor work done in the gay pornography industry.