Below are statements from: Bauer Media, H Bauer, Condé Nast, Content Marketing Association, Dennis Publishing, Egmont Magazines, Future, Immediate Media Co, IPC Media, Hearst Magazines UK, Saga Magazine, ShortList Media, Slimming World and The Spectator.
Bauer Media
Bauer Media grows brand influence through compelling content and multi-platform engagement
• Grazia, heat, Empire and MCN lead the way as multi-platform brands delivering innovative ‘content meets commerce’ solutions-
• heat hits over 4m brand interactions with consumers across print, online, mobile, radio and TV-
Today’s ABC circulation figures see Bauer Media reinforce its commitment to delivering world class editorial products. Bauer’s consumer magazine brands have delivered a solid performance in a challenging market and the company continues to focus on developing multi-platform engagement solutions.
Over the past six months Bauer Media has developed a number of quality brand extensions designed to offer the consumer a more interactive and meaningful experience, these include the launch of the ground-breaking Grazia iPad edition, Empire’s bespoke 3D Hobbit covers and digital innovations such as the ‘heat extra’ weekly augmented reality App.
Paul Keenan, Chief Executive, Bauer Media, commented: “Bauer Media is about brands with outstanding and consistent core products at their heart and the ability to connect with audiences on multiple platforms whenever, wherever and however they want it.
ABC figures only tell part of the story of a brand’s reach and influence. As Bauer Media we already connect with over nineteen million UK adults through our 60 influential media brands. Our ambition is that by the end of the first quarter we will have grown that further by increasing our relevancy everywhere that matters – across print, digital, mobile, social and events.
Continued development and investment in new platforms enables us to extend our brands; deepen contact with existing, loyal readers, reach new audiences and provide compelling new commercial opportunities.
We remain committed to delivering quality editorial products which delight and surprise our readers of which the Empire Hobbit 3D issue is a great example, as well as reaching new audiences through innovative digital launches such as the Grazia iPad edition.”
CELEBRITY WEEKLIES
Closer (w) – 396,014
Nicky Holt, publisher of Closer, commented: “Closer continues to outperform the market, driven by our aim to deliver consumers the most current women’s weekly combining news, real-life and lifestyle content. Thanks to sustained investment and high quality editorial content we remain the highest selling standalone title in the celebrity weekly category and one of the top ten selling magazines in the UK market.”
heat (w) – 261,715
Nicky Holt, publisher of heat, commented: “heat has performed in line with the market again this period. Our continued investment in the product alongside innovative digital activity has seen the heat brand grow to 4.8m brand interactions across its multiple platforms, up from 3m a year ago. heat is advantaged by having great entertainment content and unique access to talent that we can deliver across all of our platforms. With record audience figures for heat radio and heatworld.com and an ever-expanding social presence, we remain the only magazine media brand connecting with consumers across print, online, radio, mobile and TV. We have huge ambition for heat and intend to reach at least 1 million people on each platform”
WOMEN'S LIFESTYLE
Grazia (w) – 186,493
Abby Carvosso, managing director, Lifestyle, Bauer Magazines, commented: “Grazia continues to outperform the weekly and glossy markets, reaching significant numbers of upscale and influential women by delivering the ‘Who What Wear’ every week.
The last six months Grazia has deepened its engagement with its premium audience across multiple platforms with Grazia Daily increasing its reach by 47 % yoy, alongside the launches of our innovative iPad edition that allows readers to shop straight from the page, and our media partnership with the Fashtag You Tube channel.”
Yours (f) – 272,040
Abby Carvosso, managing director, Lifestyle, Bauer Magazines, commented: “Yours magazine continues to perform well due to its genuine understanding of, and deep connection with, its consumers. Our market-leading print product sits at the heart of a growing Yours brand, serving 50+ women in the UK through print spin-offs such as Yours Puzzles, the Yours Live events and a growing social network.”
FILM
Empire (m) – 167,748
“Empire is the world’s biggest and most influential movie magazine, delivering consistent growth year-on-year and continuing to outsell Total Film by two to one. Our highly successful December 2012 Hobbit issue included five bespoke 3D covers, shot by Peter Jackson and given exclusively to Empire, delivering an outstanding publishing event and illustrating the forward thinking innovation this brand continues to achieve, attracting upscale consumers and mainstream advertisers. The Empire brand continues to engage with its audience through high quality brand extensions in digital like the award winning podcast and web growth. The monthly Empire brand now reaches 3.6m, seeing over a 60% yoy increase.”
MUSIC MARKET
Kerrang! (w) – 38,556
MOJO (m) – 83,676
Q (m) – 61,485
Rimi Atwal, publishing director, Kerrang!, Mojo and Q, commented: “Bauer’s influential music brands continue to perform well with MOJO remaining the biggest title in the music market, attracting a highly loyal audience of upscale music connoisseurs. As it celebrates its 20th birthday this year, MOJO continues to be an influential music brand that delivers great issues, celebrating a diverse range of artists from The Jam to Johnny Marr.”
“The Kerrang! brand continues to attract a growing audience of passionate, young, brand savvy consumers across its radio, TV, online and social media platforms. It remains one of the few brands that genuinely offers advertisers a route to a lucrative young audience.”
“Q remains the voice of mainstream music as the magazine refocuses its editorial proposition under editor Andrew Harrison. With the recent launch of Q on iPad, Q continues to be an influential music brand across multiple platforms including Q radio and the annual Q Awards.”
MOTORING
Car (m) – 54,486
Niall Clarkson, Managing Director, Bauer Motoring said: “Within the mainstream motoring market, Car has delivered the stand-out performance, with a period-on-period increase. Car marked its golden anniversary in 2012, publishing its biggest ever issue. The recent launch of a fully-interactive iPad edition affirms our commitment to deliver a quality experience to our highly affluent and influential audience.”
MOTORCYCLING
MCN (w) - 94,941
Paul Sloggett, Managing Director, Bauer Motorcycling said: “Bauer continues to lead the motorcycling market. Bauer’s flagship weekly magazine, MCN, sells over 94,000 copies per week and has now diversified into a profitable digital business, successfully trading in retail, classifieds and insurance, reaching an audience of over one million committed motorcyclists.”
H Bauer
WOMEN’S WEEKLIES: TRUE LIFE
Take a Break: The True love of the real life market
Take a Break ABC: 749,526 YOY -5.2% POP -4.7%
True life market: YOY -10.7% POP -5.9%
Take a Break is the true love of the real life market, with an ABC of 749,526, the UK’s top selling woman’s weekly has further extended the gap to the rest of the market with sales in excess of 400,000 greater than the next largest title.
that’s life!: Market beating performance
that’s life! ABC: 294,467 YOY -9.8% POP -3.5%
True life market: YOY -10.7% POP -5.9%
Take a Break’s sister title, that’s life! put in a market beating performance and had a particularly strong period on period result to post an ABC of 294,467. Between them, H Bauer’s true life titles sell over 1 million copies a week and have gained ground in a market where many titles saw double digit losses, these two titles now account for over 50% of all sales in the true life sector.
WOMEN’S WEEKLIES: CLASSICS
Bella: Outsells discounting competitors by over 24,000 copies a week
Bella ABC: 218, 340 YOY -6.9% POP -4.8%
Overall market: YOY -9.3% POP -6.4%
In the classic market, H Bauer’s Bella posts an ABC of 218,340 and on strength of editorial alone is fast becoming the one to watch in the classic market, outperforming the market both period and period and year on year. What’s more, Bella is now firmly established as number one in the market for full price UK newsstand sales and outsells its nearest competitor by over 24,000 copies a week.
FOOD MARKET
Eat In: Mass market title appeals to a nation of food lovers
Eat In ABC: 23,269 YOY +5.7% POP +5.6%
Overall market: YOY -13.2% POP +2.0%
In the food sector, Eat In posts an ABC of 23,269 and has shown both POP and YOY growth in a market where many titles saw double digit losses. Eat In’s focus on making every day cooking accessible to all is resonating with its readers. “Whether our readers are rustling up dinner for the family, cooking for the other half or entertaining friends with a show-stopper menu, Eat In inspires them to create fabulous menus and great-tasting dishes. More than anything the magazine shares a passion for cooking that is clearly striking a chord with readers.” says Publisher Haidie Jago.
TV LISTINGS MARKET
TV Choice: 11th consecutive period as the Nation’s number one
TV Choice ABC: 1,230,076 YOY -5.7% POP -3.7%
TV Listings Market: YOY-4.0% POP -0.1%
H Bauer’s TV Choice posts its 11th consecutive ABC as the UK’s top selling newsstand magazine, continuing to enjoy average weekly sales well in excess of 1.2million. TV Choice leads its nearest competitor by a healthy margin and is the most popular companion to the nation’s favourite pastime. The listings market continues to out-perform many other magazine sectors and a terrific Christmas double issue performance by TV Choice has built up a great head of steam into 2013 with indications that there’s been a healthy response to the new year programming stimulating the need for the biggest and best value TV listings title in the market.
Total TV Guide: Bauer’s premium listings steadily gaining ground
Total TV Guide ABC: 121,169 YOY -1.4% POP +0.1%
TV Listings Market: YOY-4.0% POP -0.1%
Total TV Guide, H Bauer’s premium multi-channel TV listings title is still outperforming the TV listings market trend. With an ABC of 121,169 Total TV Guide is positioned at the premium end of the sector and is well placed to attract the more discerning reader who is now faced with more choice than ever before due to the digital switchover. With its in-depth listings, easy access and no nonsense approach, Total TV Guide continues to make ground on its nearest rival.
SPIRITUAL SECTOR
Spirit & Destiny: Market leader and POP growth
Spirit & Destiny ABC: 47,297 YOY -10.8% POP +1.5%,
In the spiritual lifestyle sector, H Bauer’s Spirit & Destiny saw growth period on period and boasts an ABC of 47,297. Spirit & Destiny is the number one title for readers seeking a feel-good magazine on all things psychic, spiritual and alternative.
Condé Nast
CONDÉ NAST ANNOUNCES ROBUST ABC FIGURES
Condé Nast announces its ABC figures for the period July to December 2012, comprised of print and digital edition sales. All titles across the portfolio display a healthy performance, maintaining dominance in the quality glossy market.
VOGUE
Vogue announces a new circulation of 207,059, an increase of 0.3% period on period. Vogue remains the dominant magazine in the fashion and luxury market. An enhanced monthly digital edition has been available since the September 2012 issue, sales of which are increasing month on month.
HOUSE & GARDEN
With a new circulation of 128,562, House & Garden has increased total actively purchased copies by 2.4% year on year.
TATLER
Tatler posts a new circulation of 88,729, a rise of 0.6% period on period. UK actively purchased copies are up 1%.
THE WORLD OF INTERIORS
Announcing a new circulation of 62,050, The World of Interiors UK actively purchased copy sales are level period on period, as is the total circulation.
GQ
GQ reports strong growth, reinforcing its position as the market-leading quality men’s monthly with a circulation of 131,920. This is an increase of 6.1% in total actively purchased copies and 4.8% in total circulation year on year.
VANITY FAIR
A new circulation of 105,464 is announced for Vanity Fair, an increase of 1.2% in UK actively purchased copies, and up half a percent in total circulation year on year.
CONDÉ NAST TRAVELLER
The world’s most discerning travel title, Condé Nast Traveller announces monthly sales of 80,138. It remains the dominant upmarket British travel magazine.
GLAMOUR
Continuing to lead its sector by a wide margin, Glamour posts a new circulation of 428,325. Digital replica editions will go monthly from April, as Glamour enters its twelfth year as market leader in its category.
EASY LIVING
Easy Living announces a new circulation of 150,854, an increase of 9% in UK actively purchased copies and 7.6% in total circulation year on year. The magazine has been published in a tablet size since January.
WIRED
Wired posts its seventh consecutive circulation rise with a new figure of 58,066, up 7% in total circulation, and 8.7% in total actively purchased copies year on year.
BRIDES
Brides, which audits annually, retains its long-held position as the UK’s number one quality bridal magazine, posting a new circulation of 56,689.
GQ STYLE, the definitive guide to men’s fashion in the UK, continues to perform strongly, while bi-annual style magazine LOVE has just published its ninth issue, ‘Clean’, and is recognised as the most authoritative title in the edgy style sector.
Nicholas Coleridge, Managing Director of Condé Nast, comments “Our digital editions are reaching an increasingly upmarket audience, with GQ, Vanity Fair and Wired in particular showing significant uptake in this format. Meanwhile, demand for our quality print magazines remains reassuringly strong.”
Content Marketing Association
ABCS SHOW CONTENT MARKETING INDUSTRY ENJOYING PHENOMENAL GROWTH
The latest ABCs mark a step change for content marketing. The combined circulation of customer magazines within the Top 100 Magazines by Circulation, including titles such as Asda Magazine, Waitrose Kitchen and BA High Life, has increased year on year by 13 per cent and for the latest 6 month period by a massive 35 per cent and overall this medium has enjoyed over a 300% increase in the rate of growth from 12 months earlier. Customer titles featuring in the Top 100 now reach 12 million people, equating to 5 million hours of consumer engagement for these brands and their third party advertisers*.
Recent research by the CMA revealed that 25 per cent of all content now consumed in the UK is produced by brands, which together with the ABCs is an indication that consumers are increasingly turning to their favourite companies for information and entertainment.
Key content marketing stats from the latest ABC Concurrent Release include:
General
• The Top four magazines by circulation are customer magazines: Asda Magazine, Tesco Magazine, The National Trust Magazine, Morrisons Magazine
• Half of the Top 10 magazines by circulation are customer magazines
• Morrisons realised the second highest period on period circulation increase (+10.8%) behind Time Out Magazine (+485.3%).
• Virgin Media Magazine saw the third highest year on year increase (+25%) behind Time Out (+455.2%) and Moshi Monsters Magazine (+36.3%)
• Specsavers Magazine debuts at number 87 in the Top 100 Magazines by Circulation
By Sector
• Legion tops the General Interest: Miscellaneous category with a circulation of 310,473 above titles including Reader’s Digest and Who do You Think You Are?
• Odeon Magazine leads the Leisure Interests: Film and Video Reviews category outperforming film stalwarts Empire Magazine and Total Film
• Leisure Interests: Holiday and Travel is led by BA’s High Life posting an 8.1% year on year growth. All other titles in this category shrunk including Conde Nast Traveller and Sunday Times Travel magazine
• Women’s Interests: Cookery and Kitchen is dominated by customer titles with the top 5 magazines being those produced by supermarkets, with Asda leading, followed by Tesco, Morrisons, Tesco Real Food and Waitrose
• Posting a small increase (+0.2% year on year) Ikea Family Live closes the gap between its consumer counterparts in Women’s Interests: Home Interests category. Ideal Home and Country Living both suffered readership dips (-2.5% and -1.8% year on year respectively)
• John Lewis Edition topped the Women’s Interests: Lifestyle/Fashion category with an increase of 2.3% year on year in a category which recorded some of the highest losses
Clare Hill, MD of the CMA comments: “With the cost of living continuing to rise and consumer trust of the media at an all time low it is unsurprising that branded media is winning out with the British public. Content marketing is a non-intrusive discipline that adds value to the customer’s life and marketing directors are increasingly recognising its power, which is why we’re seeing ABC debuts such as Specsavers Magazine and new customer magazine launches every period.
With the amalgamated print and digital data now available for the first time we expect an uplift in digitally audited titles across the board so that media owners can demonstrate their reach across devices in line with the changing technological landscape and media consumption.”
Dennis Publishing
Dennis Publishing delivers a number of ABC increases in all markets
• The Week delivers 29th consecutive increase, growing 3.5% YOY-
• Web User sees impressive 4.7% increase in challenging market conditions-
• Men’s Fitness and Octane up 0.1% and 0.3% YOY respectively-
• Digital SLR Photography sees combined increase of 3%-
• Total portfolio increase of 6.4% YOY -
Dennis Publishing, one of the UK’s leading independent media companies, can today announce its circulation growth across the sectors, despite the challenging market conditions.
James Tye, CEO of Dennis Publishing, said: “There is no question that the UK newsstand is becoming an increasingly tough place to do business. What’s also clear is that Dennis Publishing’s industry-leading skills in subscriptions, technology and digital is starting to pay real dividends. This is boosting the readership of our brands, in print and on tablets. We are also delighted to add Computer Active to our portfolio, with its significant readership of 98,560.”
• The Week – 29th consecutive ABC increase, up 3.5% YOY to 194,121
An impressive 29th consecutive ABC increase for current affairs title, The Week, rising by 1.4% POP and 3.5% YOY.
Kerin O’Connor, Chief Executive, The Week said: “The Week is delighted to announce its new ABC of 194,122, its 29th consecutive increase. The brand is bigger than it's ever been before and we confidently look forward to our 30th increase in August.”
• Men’s Fitness bucks the fitness trend with 0.1% YOY in total circulation
Fitness title Men’s Fitness sees an increase of 0.1% YOY in its total circulation, reaching a combined figure of 65,760.
Russell Blackman, Publisher of Men’s Fitness, said: “Men’s Fitness has established itself as the most trusted brand for information and inspiration about fitness, nutrition and health. This ABC increase demonstrates we are delivering a brand that resonates with its audience, across all platforms.”
• Digital SLR Photography - combined increase of 3% YOY
The photography title Digital SLR Photography sees a significant increase in its combined digital and print circulation to 36,556.
John Garewal, MD of Technology & Imaging, said: "This is the fourth consecutive ABC increase for Digital SLR Photography. Our mantra is make every issue the best ever and testimony to the brands success we continue to inform and inspire an ever increasing number of photographers."
• Web User – YOY increase of 4.7%
Technology title Web User sees its first major increase since it was acquired by Dennis Publishing from IPC Media, climbing 4.7% to 28,495.
John Garewal, MD of Technology & Imaging, said: "Anyone who's surprised by the ABC newsstand and subscription increase for Web User should buy a copy. Every issue is crafted with an absolute focus on making the very best content coupled with a desire to finesse every detail on every page. It is this obsessive commitment that keeps readers coming back for more."
• Octane– YOY increase of 0.3%
Classic and performance car title Octane sees an increase of 0.3% to 37,310.
Geoff Love, Publisher of Octane: “We are delighted that in a tough magazine climate Octane has once again increased its circulation. High quality content with great design may be old-fashioned in an increasingly digital world but Octane’s continued success is down to doing the basics well.”
Egmont Magazines
TOXIC AND GIRLS PORTFOLIO LEAD SIGNIFICANT GROWTH FOR EGMONT MAGAZINES
• Egmont’s total magazine circulation increases by 23% year-on-year
• Toxic magazine follows first interactive issue with 9.3% period-on-period and 13.2% year-on-year growth
• Girls portfolio up 29% year-on-year and period-on-period
Egmont Magazines, the children’s magazine division of Egmont UK, enjoyed a strong set of ABC results for the period July – December 2012, with circulation increases from Toxic magazine and the Girls Portfolio.
Egmont’s circulation across its entire portfolio increased by 23% yoy, boosted by successful new launches Hello Kitty Magazine and Monster High. Like for like, the Egmont portfolio increased by 1.6% yoy, highlighting the strength of its own brand and licensed magazines and their ongoing appeal to UK consumers during this period of austerity.
Following its 10th anniversary at the end of last year, Toxic remains the UK’s number one tween boy’s magazine. The title reported its third consecutive period of growth, with a 13.2% growth yoy and a 9.3% growth pop, proving that Egmont continue to be the leading experts in pre-teen boys. Investment in digital developments also continued the evolution of the title; its first interactive issue launched this week in partnership with Aurasma, with augmented reality technology allowing readers to access 3D animated cartoon characters and embedded videos relating to key magazine franchises and core brands. Ten sites in the magazine have been given the augmented reality treatment, including brands such as Lego and Guinness World Records.
Egmont’s increased investment in the Girls Portfolio was rewarded with a 29% increase yoy and pop. The portfolio, which reaches girls across 3 – 16 years, was boosted by solid performances by new launches Hello Kitty Magazine and Monster High. These results cement Egmont’s in-depth understanding of this demographic and ensures Egmont remain the market leader in the primary girls magazine portfolio.
We Love Pop, which launched last year, also continued to perform well, recording a good circulation of 48,000 in its first full year of ABC figures.
Debbie Cook, Director of Magazines, Egmont Publishing Group said: “This is a brilliant set of ABC results for Egmont’s magazine portfolio, including an overall increase in circulation across all our titles, and it proves our leading position on both the pre-teen boys and girls markets.
It’s great to see that our new launches have been successful and that we remain in touch with what our readers want and expect from our titles. Innovative developments such as Toxic’s first interactive issue show that we are at the forefront of the children’s magazine sector and continue to provide advertisers with high level opportunities to connect with their key markets.”
Future
Future’s Entertainment Group
The consumer engagement of Future’s Entertainment Group as a whole is now at a record high, delivering a global reach over 20.2m, up 29% year-on-year. Following the appointment of Clair Porteous as Head of Entertainment in October last year, the Entertainment management team has been restructured to make it more agile and equipped to deal with the ever-changing media landscape. The Group engages with its audiences across a multitude of platforms including online, social media, on mobile, through video, live events and in print and digital editions.
PC Gamer magazine continues to outperform the games sector posting a combined print and digital editions ABC of 24,513, up 2% year-on-year. PC Gamer – the only dedicated PC magazine – now delivers a print ABC of 21,272 and a digital ABC of 3,241.
Online, PCGamer.com also goes from strength-to-strength, remaining the world’s biggest PC gaming website. For the period, PCGamer.com is up 45% year-on-year, delivering 4.8 million global unique users for December 2012. In January 2013, the site delivered content to a record breaking five million monthly unique users.
Total Film delivers a combined ABC of 75,491 for the period. Total Film launched its fully interactive iPad edition in May last year and was named Film Magazine of the Year at the Digital Magazine Awards in December. Beyond the ABC, TotalFilm.com had its most successful month ever in December 2012 with a record 2.49 million global unique users, up 107% year-on-year. The brand’s social media audience for December 2012 included 132,534 Facebook likes, up 21% year-on-year, 124,707 Twitter followers, up 70% year-on-year and 177,000 followers on Tumblr. On mobile, Total Film now reaches 259,000 unique users.
Edge posts a combined ABC of 25,571. Its fully interactive iPad edition launched in July 2012 and won Magazine Cover of the Year at the Digital Magazine Awards in December. Edge-Online.com continues to grow, recording 324,648 global unique users for December 2012, up 24% year-on-year. The magazine will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2013, culminating in a special celebration issue in September this year.
Official Xbox 360 Magazine delivers a combined ABC of 46,682 and remains the market-leading games magazine in the UK. Online OXM.co.uk recorded 904,158 global unique users in December 2012, up 163% year-on-year and with the launch of the next Xbox scheduled for later this year, Official Xbox 360 Magazine has plans to invest in the brand both on and offline.
Official PlayStation Magazine posts a combined ABC of 31,524 and remains the biggest dedicated PlayStation magazine ahead of its nearest rival, Play. Online OfficialPlayStationMagazine.co.uk now delivers 331,000 global unique users, up 190% year-on-year. The brand also continues to increase its social media reach, with over 12,000 Facebook likes, and video content that has generated over 2.3 million views and over 12,000 channel subscribers on YouTube.
Official Nintendo Magazine reports an ABC of 25,530 and its overall brand reach is at a record high. During the period, ONM appointed Chandra Nair as its new Editor-in-Chief, who delivered a brand refresh to coincide with the launch of Nintendo’s Wii U games console. OfficialNintendoMagazine.co.uk recorded 303,495 global unique users for December 2012, up 71% year-on-year and the innovative Nintendo TV on-console broadcast, in full stereoscopic 3D, continues to attract thousands of views every month.
GamesMaster delivers a combined ABC of 19,543 and remains the UK’s favourite all-format games magazine. Now in its 20th year, the magazines content is ever-evolving with an increasing focus on mobile, downloadable and free-to-play gaming.
GamesRadar, the premier source for everything video games, was redesigned in October 2012 as part of an ongoing development process that is already resulting in more repeat visits and higher levels of engagement. Since its relaunch, GamesRadar has delivered a 19% increase in traffic, recording 4.4 million global unique users for December.
CVG’s focus on up-to-the minute rolling news coverage continues to deliver growth and market-share, with 2.5 million global unique users for December 2012, up 5% year-on-year.
Elsewhere, the GamesMaster Golden Joystick Awards celebrated its 30th anniversary in October 2012. Recognised as the world’s most popular and credible video game awards, over four million votes were cast last year, almost doubling Joysticks’ own 2011’s Guinness World Record. For the first time ever, the ceremony was also watched online by gamers across the world thanks to an exclusive streaming deal with YouTube.
SFX posts a combined ABC of 27,958 and remains the market-leading sci-fi magazine in the UK. Despite challenging market conditions, SFX.co.uk goes from strength-to-strength recording 303,697 global unique users, up 30% year-on-year. Whilst on mobile, SFX records over 270,000 global page views since its launch last year.
Clair Porteous, Head of Future’s Entertainment Group, says: “We have delivered a solid set of ABC results in these changing times and have displayed strong digital growth across all our platforms. Our magazines are holding up well in what we can all agree to be tough economic conditions and print continues to be a large and valued part of the Future Entertainment business. Meanwhile in the digital space we continue our expansion online, on mobile and via social media channels. It is fantastic to see the Entertainment’s Group brand reach at an all time high – we pride ourselves on the strength of our brands and delivering them in all the ways our audience wants to consume them.”
Future’s Music Listening Group
• Future’s Music Listening Group Drives Growth Across Portfolio
Future, the international media group, remains the UK’s largest Music Listening publisher, with brand growth across its combined media platforms.
ABC audited Print and Digital Edition circulation figures published today for the year to December 2012 show:
Classic Rock: Print: 56,714 Digital: 2,608 Combined: 59,322
Metal Hammer: Print: 30,029 Digital: 1,246 Combined: 31,275
Beyond the ABCs, Future’s Music Listening division, including Metal Hammer and Classic Rock, has seen growth year-on-year across a range of media platforms.
As one of the world’s most respected and recognisable metal brands, Metal Hammer has seen growing international brand reach. The 36 date, Metal Hammer Trespass Tour of America last summer, headlined by Five Finger Death Punch, sold in excess of 280,000 tickets. The brand also exclusively produced the internationally distributed Metallica So What! 30th Anniversary magazine. Online, Metal Hammer continues its phenomenal social media performance, with an online audience reach growing 40% year-on-year to almost 1.1 million per month.
Classic Rock continues to drive innovation in the Music sector. ‘Classic Rock Presents…’, the umbrella title for brand extensions, produces regular frequency editions of both ‘AOR’ and ‘The Blues’ as well as one-off specials such as ‘Electronic’ and ‘The Cure And The Alternative 80’s’. Online reach has grown 37% year-on-year to over a one million* per month.
Prog, leading a resurgence of interest in the genre, became a stand-alone brand in 2012. It also launched the highly successful Prog Awards at Kew Gardens, which was met with phenomenal support from the artists and the media.
Future has also pioneered a sequence of Fanpacks – deluxe exclusive editions of new and classic albums from iconic artists including Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rush and Rick Wakeman. The Fanpacks include the full studio album plus additional bonus tracks and exclusive magazines – the ultimate sleevenotes – and sell for a premium price on the UK newsstand.
In 2012, six Fanpacks were released selling almost 100,000 copies combined. Two new Fanpacks are already confirmed for release in coming weeks featuring guitar legend Jimi Hendrix and metal band HIM.
Future’s Rock events – including Classic Rock Roll Of Honour, Metal Hammer Golden Gods and Prog Awards – also continue to thrive.
Scott Rowley, Editor-In-Chief of Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog says: “The way people – especially music fans – consume media has changed and we’ve evolved too, with greater online and digital presence and innovative narrow-but-deep print products to satisfy the most hardcore fans. We’re not done yet, either.”
Future’s Photography Group
• Future’s Photography Group Sees Circulation Increase Across The Entire Portfolio
• Digital Camera Becomes The Market Leading Photography Title
Flagship brand Digital Camera is up year-on-year with a combined print and digital circulation rise of 0.8%, making it the market leader for the first time, breaking a decades-long dominance of titles from Bauer.
Canon-specific mag PhotoPlus saw similar results with a combined increase of 0.3%.
Digital growth of 149% for Digital Camera and 338% for Photo Plus follows major investment by Future in its tablet editions and its own FutureFolio digital magazine software.
N-Photo, Future’s Nikon-specific brand, which launched in December 2011, has published its first combined ABC figure of 25,011, outselling many long-standing titles.
Another debutant is Practical Photoshop, which launched in April 2012. With a combined print and digital figure of 10,600, it becomes the best selling Photoshop title in the market.
Digital Camera: Print: 39,460 Digital: 6,354 Combined: 45,814
PhotoPlus: Print: 25,820 Digital: 3,246 Combined: 29,066
N-Photo: Print: 20,057 Digital: 4,954 Combined: 25,011
Practical Photoshop: Print: 8,265 Digital: 2,335 Combined: 10,600
As well as the established print titles, in September 2012 Future launched the first exclusively digital photography weekly on Apple’s Newsstand, Photography Week. The title is consistently number one in Apple’s charts of the UK and US photography newsstand sector. Future’s digital edition sales in the photography market are now in excess of 40,000 copies a month.
Matthew Pierce, Group Publisher, Creative, says: “This is a fantastic set of ABC results. With a combined Photography portfolio figure of more than 110,000, Future is the leading publisher of photography titles by an overwhelming margin.
“Although only just 12 months old, N-Photo’s performance is outstanding - a brilliant example of a successful print and digital launch into a very established sector. We’re also delighted that Practical Photoshop becomes the undisputed number one Photoshop brand on its first ever audit.
“Most impressive of all is the performance of Digital Camera, which enjoys yet another combined ABC increase, to take market leadership from Bauer’s Digital Photo and become the best-selling title in a very hotly-contested sector.”
Analysis by title:
T3
• T3 Delivers Significant Growth In Digital Formats In ABC Period
• ABC combined print, digital and digital publication circulation for
January-December 2012 is 65,217
Future’s leading technology and lifestyle brand, T3, has delivered significant brand growth, with a 35% increase in its digital editions, as well as a 105.4% year-on-year increase in global unique users of www.T3.com.
The world’s leading multi-platform technology media brand, with a strong presence across online, print, tablet, mobile and events, T3 is the market leader on iPad. Its standard digital edition saw a 52.3% year-on-year growth from 7,327 to 11,158, while the interactive edition saw 3.7% growth to 18,005.
Beyond the ABC, T3 has continued its international expansion through 2012 and is now licensed in 24 countries. T3.com has increased its global unique users by 105.4% year-on-year to almost three million, with page impressions up by 40.1% to over 10 million.
Combining ABC audited figures for T3’s print, standard digital and interactive digital editions, T3 delivers a total average monthly circulation of 65,217 for the period January-December 2012.
PRINT: 36,054
DIGITAL: 11,158
DIGITAL PUBLICATIONS CERTIFICATE AUDIT: 18,005
COMBINED: 65,217
(NB the Digital Publications Certificate is not included in the ABC Concurrent release but includes ABC audited copy sales of the interactive digital edition of T3.)
Group Publishing Director Nial Ferguson says: “T3 is one of only a handful of media brands that can truly be called multi-platform. The latest set of ABC figures show again how the brand is adapting to the way consumers are choosing to access their monthly edition content. T3 continues to innovate in the rapidly evolving media landscape.”
Since its launch in October 2010, the T3 interactive iPad edition has been one of the UK’s most successful lifestyle apps, and was the first digital edition to deliver separate ABC results. It has won a multiple of awards in 2012, most notably being double winners at the prestigious 2012 Professional Publishers Association Awards, winning International Consumer Magazine Of The Year and Digital Product Of The Year.
Total Film
• Total Film Continues To Extend Brand Reach In Latest ABC Period
• ABC combined print, digital and digital publication circulation for July-December 2012 is 75,491
Total Film continues to extend its overall brand reach. As an exemplar of a modern multi-platform brand, Total Film serves its core audience online, via social media, on mobile, through events and in print and digital editions.
Combining ABC audited figures for Total Film’s print, standard digital and interactive digital editions, Total Film delivers a total average monthly circulation of 75,491 for the period July-December 2012.
PRINT: 65,381
DIGITAL: 1,631
DIGITAL PUBLICATIONS CERTIFICATE AUDIT: 8,479
COMBINED: 75,491
(NB the Digital Publications Certificate is not included in the ABC Concurrent release but includes ABC audited copy sales of the interactive digital edition of Total Film.)
Total Film launched its fully interactive iPad edition in May last year and was named Film Magazine of the Year at the Digital Magazine Awards in December.
Online, www.totalfilm.com had its most successful month ever in December 2012, with a record 2.49 million global unique users, up 107% year-on-year. Whilst its social media audience for December 2012 included 132,534 Facebook likes, up 21% year-on-year, and 124,707 Twitter followers, up 70% year-on-year and 177,000 followers on Tumblr. Whilst on mobile, Total Film now reaches 259,000 unique users.
Lee Nutter, Group Publisher of Total Film, says: “Total Film is a truly multiplatform brand, producing must-read content across all touch points. Once again we have record website traffic and our interactive digital edition continues to go from strength-to-strength. Although the print sector remains a challenging environment, it is extremely encouraging to see Total Film’s print circulation exceed those of brands such as Esquire and Q. Our brand reach is bigger than it ever has been.”
MacFormat
• MacFormat Increases Brand Reach By 15.1% In Latest ABC Report
• ABC combined print, digital and digital publication circulation for January-December 2012 is 31,564
MacFormat has extended its overall brand reach by 15.1%, further cementing its status as the UK’s best-selling Apple magazine. MacFormat serves its core audience online, via social media, on mobile and through its print and digital editions.
Combining ABC audited figures for MacFormat’s print, standard digital and interactive digital editions, MacFormat delivers a total average monthly circulation of 31,564 for the period January-December 2012.
PRINT: 21,347
DIGITAL: 3,375
DIGITAL PUBLICATIONS CERTIFICATE AUDIT: 6,842
COMBINED: 31,564
(NB the Digital Publications Certificate is not included in the ABC Concurrent release but includes ABC audited copy sales of the interactive digital edition of MacFormat.)
MacFormat launched its fully interactive iPad edition in July, which was highly commended at the Digital Magazine Awards in December.
Ian Robson, Publisher for MacFormat, says: “2012 delivered several landmark achievements for MacFormat. Alongside a 15% growth in combined copy sales, it was also highly commended at the Digital Magazine Awards for its interactive makeover in July. With these new ABC numbers, MacFormat has secured its status as the UK’s number one Apple magazine for a sixth successive year.”
Immediate Media Co
• Immediate Media Co delivers another strong ABC of over 3.3million and outperforms the market again
• Robust newsstand circulation and leading subscriptions base boosted by growing digital editions
Immediate Media Co, the leading cross-media special interest content company, has outperformed the consumer magazine market again with a strong combined print and digital circulation of 3,322,092. This represents 13.5% period on period growth and -1.2% year on year. Immediate also retains its number one position for subscriptions in the UK at over 1 million.
Immediate Media Co CEO, Tom Bureau said: “It’s been an outstanding six-month period for our magazine business at Immediate. I’m excited that we have outperformed the market again thanks to our portfolio of strong content brands with star performances from Radio Times, BBC History, Focus, and a number of new launches in the Youth and Children’s category.
Our print business, with over 1 million subscribers, remains extremely robust and resilient in the current economic conditions, thanks to our upmarket 40 – 60 year old (AB) consumers, who are deeply engaged with our products that deliver compelling content around their interests and passions.”
Following the recent rollout of its portfolio on digital formats in mid 2012, Immediate’s latest ABCs show rapid growth in its digital editions, now at 31,595, as part of the company’s longer term cross-media strategy.
Highlights contributing to this strong ABC performance in July-December 2012:
• Radio Times is up 3.2% period on period following an excellent six-months. It has outperformed the market both period on period and year on year with an ABC of 893,512. Radio Times is the top title in the UK by Retail Sales Value, is the biggest UK subscription weekly and is the best selling quality magazine in the UK;
• Youth & Children’s – Immediate’s children’s portfolio is up 13.5% overall year on year, with strong debuts from Alphablocks (40,865), Mike the Knight (40,623) and Horrible Histories (37,164). Other popular children’s titles published by Immediate continue to perform very well, including Something Special (at 64,452, up 17.6%), CBeebies Art (at 69,758, up 9.5%) and CBeebies Special (at 65,019 up 4.9%);
• BBC History magazine increases it circulation yet again, with a combined ABC of 80,009, up 10.7% year on year, with strong growth for its digital editions currently at 6,431;
• Immediate’s science titles have had another strong year, with Focus delivering an ABC of 77,377, up 14.2% year on year; and Sky at Night at 25,535, up 8.4% year on year;
• BBC Good Food retains its position as the market-leading ‘paid for’ food title with a combined print and digital ABC of 283,783, up 6.2% in the past six months and delivering good growth in its digital editions, now at 9,486;
• Top Gear delivers a combined ABC of 155,791, maintaining its market-leading position and outselling its nearest competitor* by more than two copies to one; Digital edition sales are now at 5,655 per month, a figure that is already growing at pace following the launch of the magazine’s fully interactive app in December 2012.
Bureau added: “We’re now offering our readers great content on a range of platforms. Our digital editions are rapidly growing at more than 10% month on month and scaling to be a significant revenue line alongside our other online and transactional businesses. We’re continuing to invest in our cross-media business and we have some exciting digital plans for our brands in 2013.”
Radio Times
ABC July-Dec 2012: 893,512
ABC July–Dec 2011: 925,373
Change YOY: -3.4%
Change POP: 3.2%
Key facts:
• The UK’s 3rd biggest selling magazine
• The biggest POP increase of any UK actively purchased magazine
• The UK’s most valuable magazine with a 36% share of the TV listings market RSV
• The UK’s biggest weekly subscription title with over 218k subscribers
• Outperforming the TV listings market which is -5.2% YOY and -0.2% POP
• Both print and digital in growth
Kathy Day, MD, Radio Times brand: “Radio Times, the UK’s biggest selling quality magazine – and the third biggest selling magazine across all markets – has grown by an impressive 3.2%% period on period to deliver an ABC of 893,512. This is the biggest period on period increase of any actively purchased UK magazine, and is clear demonstration of the power of investing in a well executed editorial vision. This hugely successful period has also seen Radio Times retain its dual market leading positions as both the biggest selling UK weekly magazine by subscription and the UK’s most valuable magazine at newsstand. It continues to dominate the premium TV listings sector, with 60% share.
“This success is mirrored by the phenomenal growth of RadioTimes.com. It reached over 2.7million unique users in December 2012, an increase of 83% since becoming part of Immediate Media Company in November 2011, with page views up by 62% over the same period. This is a clear demonstration that Radio Times is a brand in very rude health, delivering a truly cross-platform offer for the digital age.”
BBC History Magazine
Combined: 80,009
Print Jul-Dec 2012: 73,578
Digital Jul-Dec 2012: 6,431
Print Jul-Dec 2011: 72,271
Combined YoY: 10.7%
Combined PoP: 10.3%
Key facts:
• Up PoP (+10.3% combined) and YoY (+10.7% combined)
• Showing growth on both the UK newsstand and overseas
• By far the most popular history magazine in the market
• Digital sales making a significant contribution – up 481.46% PoP at 6,431
Dave Musgrove, Associate Publisher, BBC History Magazine: “BBC History Magazine continues its long-running success story as we post our 14th consecutive rise. Print sales are showing both a period-on-period and year-on-year rise, while on digital, we've seen fantastic early uptake on both our Kindle and iPad versions. Digital now accounts for over 8% of our total sales, and we expect to make further digital inroads in the year ahead.”
Focus Magazine
Combined: 77,377
Print Jul-Dec 2012: 74,316
Digital Jul-Dec 2012: 3,061
Print Jul-Dec 2011: 67,727
Combined YoY: 14%
Combined PoP: 16%
Key facts:
• Up 16% PoP and 14% YoY (combined)
• Showing highest PoP increase in science market and second highest YoY increase
• Subscriptions are up 6.1% PoP and 15.9% YoY (mainly due to the transfer of Knowledge magazine’s subscription portfolio)
• Comprehensive redesign revealed in September 2012 has been well received by readers
• Sales of digital copies have increased by 42.6% PoP and stand at 3,061
Andrew Davies, Publisher, Focus: “Focus has shown a superb YoY growth of 14% as a result of a first-class redesign of the magazine in September 2012 and our ongoing commitment to growing our subscription base both in the UK and overseas. The growth in subscriptions is especially pleasing as it is a glowing indication of the loyalty that readers feel towards Focus. In addition, our digital editions continue to build and evolve with an impressive 42.6% PoP growth.”
Sky at Night Magazine
Combined: 25,535
Print Jul-Dec 2012: 24,908
Digital Jul-Dec 2012: 627
Print Jul-Dec 2011: 23,564
Combined YoY: 8.4%
Combined PoP: 3.2%
Key facts:
• Up 8.4% YoY (combined)
• Growth driven by newsstand sales
• Interest in the hobby of astronomy continues to increase, thanks in part to the ‘Brian Cox effect’
• Only astronomy title to publish an audited figure
Andrew Davies, Publisher, Sky at Night Magazine: “It's a testament to the constantly growing and evolving Sky at Night brand that we post a sixth consecutive ABC rise, up 8% YoY to 25,535. Interest in the night sky has increased significantly in recent years thanks in part to high-profile programmes such as Stargazing Live and Sky at Night Magazine is proving an accessible guide for both newcomers to astronomy and the informed connoisseur.”
Gardeners’ World Magazine
Combined: 203,291
Print Jul-Dec 2012: 202,733
Digital Jul-Dec 2012: 558
Print Jul-Dec 2011: 216,620
Combined YoY: - 6.2%
Combined PoP: - 20.1%
Key facts:
• NB: Seasonal specific reasons to the gardening market explain the period on period decline
• Gardeners’ World delivers an impressive print ABC of 202,733, far out of sight as the leader of the gardening market place.
• Gardeners’ World continues to retain its market leading credentials with a 54% share of the paid-for gardening titles.
• It is also the 8th most popular title in the UK for subscribers.
Dominic Murray, publishing director, Gardeners’ World magazine: “Gardeners’ World Magazine continues to excel at bringing a specialist subject to a mainstream audience. We continue to invest in deepening our engagement with loyal subscribers to add value and build a real community both through the magazine and the re- launched website, where we’re seeing a 50% year-on-year uplift in unique users. With a new editor at the helm in Lucy Hall, a new editorial vision being unveiled and a refreshed look for April 2013 the future looks very bright.”
Youth & Children’s - Pre-school Portfolio
Key facts:
• Whole portfolio up 13.8% year on year and 15.3% period on period
• Strong debuts from Alphablocks (launched July 2012) and Mike the Knight (launched August 2012).
• Continued strong performance from leading brands CBeebies Art, CBeebies Specials and Something Special.
Pauline Cooke, Publishing Director, Pre-school, Immediate Media Co: “We’re really pleased to report another fantastic result from Immediate Media Co’s pre-school portfolio, with strong debut circulations from new launches Alphablocks and Mike the Knight contributing to an overall year on year increase of 13.8%. Some of our more established titles continue to perform well, and once again Something Special magazine demonstrates that there’s a big appetite from parents for this inclusive title.”
BBC Worldwide-owned contract titles:
BBC Top Gear Magazine
Combined: 155,791
Print Jul-Dec 2012: 150,136
Digital Jul-Dec 2012: 5,655
Print Jul-Dec 2011: 180,208
Combined YoY: - 13.5%
Combined PoP: +0.5%
Key facts:
• Combined print and digital ABC indicates growth in the past 6 months.
• Top Gear delivers a strong result maintaining its market leading position and outselling its nearest competitor What Car by more than two copies to one.
• Top Gear has a 45.9% share of the monthly motoring magazine market.
• Top Gear sells more than FHM, GQ, and Esquire.
• Total subscriptions for Top Gear stand at 49,182 - the highest in the core motoring comp set and over 20,000 more copies than nearest rival Auto Express.
• Digital edition sales at 5,655 per month.
• 31 licensed editions worldwide.
Simon Carrington, Publisher, BBC Top Gear Magazine: “BBC Top Gear magazine is streets ahead of its rivals as the largest selling magazine in the car market and over the past few years has been the best performing men’s magazine in the country.* With our print sales steady over the past six months and a huge growth in digital editions, following the launch of our critically acclaimed interactive issue we are immensely confident about the future of this global brand.”
FOOD GROUP
BBC Good Food:
Combined: 283,783
Print Jul-Dec 2012: 274,297
Digital Jul-Dec 2012: 9,486
Print Jul-Dec 2011: 313,009
Combined YoY: -9.3%
Combined PoP: +3.4%
BBC Easy Cook:
Combined: 48,058
Print Jul-Dec 2012: 47,622
Digital Jul-Dec 2012: 436
Print Jul-Dec 2011: 54,035
Combined YoY: -11.1%
Combined PoP: +16.4%
Key facts:
• Good Food remains the number one food monthly.
• Good Food is up period on period and has increased market share.
• Good Food has more subscriptions than the rest of the food market combined, demonstrating strong reader loyalty.
• The multi-award winning app now has a circulation of 9,486 and is the number one women’s interest magazine app and the 6th most popular lifestyle magazine app.
• The overall audience for the Good Food brand has increased in the past year with unique users up to 8 million.
• The subscriptions base of Good Food is almost 3 times that of the 2nd placed title, delicious. With Good Food’s subscriptions at 150,000, double the total circulation of any other title in the market.
• Easy Cook up 16.4% period on period following re launch.
Lorna East, publisher, BBC Good Food magazine and BBC Easy Cook, said: “BBC Good Food magazine, the UK’s number one food monthly continues to outperform the market, selling nearly three times as much as its nearest rival. It has been a forward thinking magazine, with the decision to launch early in a fully interactive digital format reaping rewards, with stunning sales for our multi-award winning app.”
“Easy Cook was the magazine that launched the budget cooking market and our decision to re launch the magazine in a taller size with a refreshed look and feel has borne fruit with an impressive uplift in the last six months. Easy Cook’s value proposition has an established audience and continues to reflect its readers’ needs.”
Lonely Planet Traveller
Combined: 56,618
Print Jul-Dec 2012: 55,081
Digital Jul-Dec 2012: 1,537
Print Jul-Dec 2011: 60,125
Combined YoY: - 5.8%
Combined PoP: - 4.3%
Key facts:
• The UK’s most paid for travel magazine.
• Increased market share since re-launch on the newsstand by one percentage point
• 9 out of 10 readers buy Lonely Planet Traveller versus 5 out of 10 for Condé Nast. Traveller and 7 out of 10 for Sunday Times Travel.
• Reader loyalty to Lonely Planet Traveller remains strong, with the title achieving 10,000 more subscriptions than Condé Nast Traveller.
• Two new licenses this year, in Germany and the Middle East.
• Lonely Planet brand 40 this year.
Simon Carrington, Publisher, Lonely Planet Traveller Magazine: “Lonely Planet Traveller remains the UK’s most actively purchased travel magazine, with our decision to re launch the magazine in August proving successful with us grabbing market share on the newsstand. With Lonely Planet - the largest media travel brand in the world - celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, there is a host of exciting plans to look forward to for both the wider brand and magazine.”
IPC Media
IPC Media CEO Sylvia Auton says: “We are committed to ensuring that our iconic brands are available on all platforms and have now firmly established our tablet footprint, having launched 62 brands on Apple Newsstand, and the majority on Barnes & Noble Nook and Kindle Fire. We welcome that ABC, for the first time, is including combined print and digital figures in this set of ABC results. This period, we have 22 brands publishing a digital certificate and next period there will be many more.”
IPC’s ABC results include:
IPC Connect’s television titles again performed well this period with their annual share of the newsstand now at 46.7%, reflecting a year-on-year market share growth of 0.5%. What’s on TV posted a total print ABC of 1,222,242, a period-on-period increase of 0.5% and again narrowed the gap between it and its nearest competitor. At the premium end of the market, TVTimes enjoyed period-on-period growth of 3.8% to lift its total print ABC to 275,526 and TVeasy posted a total print ABC of 148,759, up 0.1% on the period. These results demonstrate that consumers continue to trust the editorial quality of IPC’s brands to guide them to unmissable TV moments.
In the women’s weekly market, the lifestyle titles Woman and Woman’s Own continued to perform well in demanding market conditions and both outperformed the sector year-on-year. Woman posted a total print ABC of 261,170 and maintained its position at the top of the women’s weekly lifestyle sector and Woman’s Own outperformed the sector on both the year and the period with a total print ABC of 222,571. In the celebrity sector, Now posted a total print ABC of 240,061, the strongest year-on-year performance in the sector.
This period, IPC Inspire’s cycling portfolio was buoyed by a successful year for road cycling and all titles saw year-on-year total print circulation increases. Cycling Weekly enjoyed a 5.2% increase to take its total print ABC to 28,834; Cycling Active, which posts a total print ABC of 25,004, saw an increase of 13.3%; and Cycle Sport posts a total print ABC of 21,495, a leap of 29.5% year-on-year.
Elsewhere in IPC Inspire’s sport and leisure portfolio, World Soccer lifted its circulation by 1.2% year-on-year to post a total print ABC of 32,843 and Golf Monthly reclaimed its position at the top of the golf market, posting a period-on-period print increase of 0.3% and a combined print and digital ABC of 58,024. The Field, IPC’s oldest magazine, increased its total print circulation year-on-year by 3.2% to 29,428. Celebrating its third consecutive annual ABC increase, Country Life reports an increase of 0.5% year-on-year to 38,246.
In the fashion sector, both Marie Claire and InStyle outperformed the market period-on-period. With a total print circulation increase of 1.5% period-on-period to 165,903, InStyle is one of the best performers in the fashion market. Marie Claire increased its total print circulation on the period by 0.1% to 255,333 and continues to benefit from investment in the magazine, showcasing its core editorial strengths and glossy credentials.
IPC Southbank continues to be the clear market leader in the home interest market and has increased its share of the total market year-on-year from 44.9% to 45.6%. Its eight-strong portfolio, including the online homes portal housetohome.co.uk, caters to every interiors enthusiast, from country to urban, modern to traditional and budget to upmarket. The most recent entrant to the market, Style at Home reports considerable growth, up 9.9% on the period and 22.5% on the year to deliver a total print ABC of 87,943. Country Homes & Interiors also posted 0.4% growth on the year taking its ABC to 97,631.
Hearst Magazines UK
The leading UK media owner continues to outperform its competitors with strong digital magazine sales and downloads; average issue sales of digital editions across the Hearst Magazines UK portfolio have increased by 158% year on year and 6% period on period. In addition, its diverse print portfolio continues to grow with outstanding performances from ELLE Decoration, Esquire and Women’s Health in particular.
Both Esquire (up 8.8% year on year) and ELLE Decoration (up 0.6% year on year) have reported record print ABC figures while Hearst-owned brands, Country Living, Good Housekeeping, Inside Soap and Men’s Health, continue to dominate their respective markets.
Highlights include;
• Women’s Health, launched in Feb 2012, grows its debut ABC by 1.7% to 102,007 with combined print and digital sales up 3.1% to 104,607
• Top performances for combined print and digital sales from Esquire (up 11.9%), Elle Decoration (up 8.3%) and Elle (up 2%)
• Highest ever ABC for ELLE Decoration, print 70,818 (up 0.6% year on year) and combined print and digital sales of 77,381, (up 8.3% year on year).
• Highest ABC for Esquire since July -December 2005 up 8.8%
• Average issue sales of digital editions across the portfolio have increased by 158% year on year and 6% period on period.
• Twelve out of twenty digital editions have delivered at least double digit period on period growth.
• Country Living, Good Housekeeping, Inside Soap and Men’s Health continue to be market leaders in their competitive sets.
In addition to strong combined ABC performances, Hearst Magazines UK also recently announced record increases in ad pages across March issues for three of its leading UK luxury fashion magazines, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar and Esquire. Esquire’s new style manual for successful men – Big Black Book – which launches on March 19, has also surpassed all expectations by beating its predicted ad revenue forecast by 80%.
Hearst Magazines UK publishes 20 magazines, more than 20 websites, 14 mobile sites and, to date, more than 150 applications and digital editions for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, as well as the Android platform. It is the largest digital publisher in the UK and its impressive reach in print and digital extends to 1 in 4 UK women and 1 in 6 UK adults.
Earlier this week, Hearst Magazines UK announced an exclusive partnership with The Hut Group to launch magazine-branded online shopping sites that sell products selected by editors, across a singular platform called The UK Edit. www.theukedit.com
Arnaud de Puyfontaine, Chief Executive, Hearst Magazines UK, says: “It’s encouraging to see so many consumers accessing our content on both print and digital format. Our strong combined ABC figures coupled with recent ad sales increases across our luxury titles, proves that audiences and advertisers trust Hearst Magazines UK brands to deliver world class, authoraritive editorial content and innovative creative ad solutions across multiple touch points from print and web to mobiles, apps and, most recently, ecommerce.”
July - December 2012 ABC Title Highlights
Monthlies
Company: Total combined print and digital edition ABC – 131,505
Print ABC: 129,058 / Digital ABC: 2,447
A total reinvention of Company a year ago has changed what young women can expect from a magazine brand today. Carving a new and exciting niche in the market has allowed Company to engage with almost 1m Creative Fashionistas - a valuable audience of young influencers not serviced by other magazines. Company has developed revolutionary ways of engaging with advertisers to ensure multi-platform access to this defined and valuable audience and will continue its entrepreneurial and innovative streak through 2013
Cosmopolitan: Total combined print and digital edition ABC – 319,323
Print ABC: 308,482 / Digital ABC: 10,841
With more than 1.5m readers, Cosmopolitan has the biggest readership of any monthly magazine in its sector; successfully translating across multiple platforms including 2m monthly uniques on Cosmopolitan.co.uk and regularly ranking as the top women’s brand in digital edition sales. The Cosmopolitan universe continues to grow and touches more than four million consumers every month. Alongside the rapidly growing digital footprint, Cosmopolitan successfully launched print based spin offs Cosmo Body, Cosmo Beauty and Cosmosutra widening access points to the brand through targeted and premium content. New and innovative launches will continue in 2013.
Country Living: Total combined print and digital ABC – 190,707
Print ABC: 188,174 / Digital ABC: 2,533
Country Living continues to be the market leader in its sector by over 70,000 UK actively purchased sales posting an ABC of 188,174. The ongoing popularity and clout of this brand is demonstrated by a very strong subscription base and a large adult readership of 761,000. Country Living continues to extend its reach with two new bookazines launching in 2013, following the strong performance of its first bookazine last year; the ongoing success of the Country Living sofa range exclusively available at DFS and the hugely successful Country Living Fairs.
ELLE: Total combined print and digital – 201,323
Print ABC: 194,253 / Digital ABC: 7,070
A strong performance for ELLE with a print ABC of 194,253 up 2.5% period on period and a strong digital ABC of 7,070 up 189% year on year. ELLE continues to have a strong multi platform presence, with elleuk.com engaging with more than 424k unique users a month and more than 3.6million page views a month. ELLE cemented its reputation as an omni-channel brand by becoming the first UK women’s magazine to reach over 400k Facebook fans and now has a social media following of over 850k on Facebook and Twitter combined.
ELLE Decoration: Total combined print and digital – 77,381
Print ABC: 70,818 / Digital ABC: 6,563
ELLE Decoration continues its amazing success posting its highest ever combined print ABC & digital figure, up 2.5% period on period and 8.3% year on year. Subscriptions are also at their highest ever level up 4.8% year on year, reflecting the success and strength of the brand and further reinforcing the fact that ELLE Decoration is the lifestyle bible for anyone with an interest in contemporary design.
Esquire: Total combined print and digital – 67,521
Print ABC: 61,579 / Digital ABC: 5,942
Esquire has had a fantastic performance posting its yearly highest combined sales figure of of 67,521, up 11.9% year on year. Esquire continues to have a strong multi platform presence, with Esquire.co.uk engaging with more than 129k unique users a month. As a digital edition, sales are at their highest ever level with an impressive 14% growth period on period and 58% growth year on year.
Good Housekeeping: Total combined print and digital ABC – 412,704
Print ABC: 409,326 / Digital ABC: 3,378
The leading women’s lifestyle magazine, Good Housekeeping continues to lead this market with a subscription file of more than 50%, highlighting the strength of this brand. Good Housekeeping has a huge female readership of 1,290,000 which continues to grow (up 0.9% year on year) and massive brand reach with its series of standalones, Good Housekeeping Institute approved and Good Housekeeping Reader Recommended products, licensed products and books. This reach was extended last year with the launch of Good Ideas and the launch of www.goodhousekeeping.co.uk, both of which will be developed and expanded even further in 2013.
Harper’s Bazaar: Total combined print and digital - 116,877
Print ABC: 111,353 / Digital ABC: 5,524
Harper’s Bazaar has begun 2013 in a stronger position than 2012 with newsstand sales for the first issue by newly appointed Editor-in-chief, Justine Picardie, (February 2013), already up by 1.8%. Justine’s commitment to showcasing the best of Harper’s Bazaar’s heritage is sharply focused on intelligent fashion, wondrous design and thoughtful features, and she is supported by a strong editorial team including award winning Creative Director, Marissa Bourke, newly appointed Fashion Features Director, Avril Mair, and Carine Roitfeld, Harper’s Bazaar’s new Global Fashion Director whose first story runs in the March 2013 issue. Digitally, Harper’s Bazaar continues to see growth with a 3.6% increase period on period for unique users at harpersbazaar.co.uk, while digital edition sales remain strong and will be further boosted by the launch of the enhanced edition for the March 2013 issue.
House Beautiful: Total combined print and digital ABC – 128,574
Print ABC: 127,194 / Digital ABC: 1,380
In a very competitive market, House Beautiful maintains a healthy position, posting an ABC of 127,194 which has increased 0.6% period on period. House Beautiful has a strong subscription base (the largest in its market) and a large female readership of 405,000 which, together with the successful ranges of House Beautiful sofas available exclusively at DFS the exciting new partnership with the Prince’s Foundation at this year’s Ideal Home Show, continue to highlight the strength of this brand.
Men’s Health: Total combined print and digital ABC 215,380
Print ABC: 202,704 / Digital ABC: 12,676
Men’s Health maintains its position as the best-selling men’s lifestyle title in the UK for the 8th consecutive ABC period; Men’s Health also leads the way in digital edition sales with growth of over 60% year-on-year - a position reinforced by the recent launch of its enhanced magazine app onto Apple newsstand.
Prima: Total combined print and digital ABC – 256,729
Print ABC: 256,053 / Digital ABC: 676
Prima remains one of the highest selling women’s magazines in the UK with a very large and loyal subscriber base and substantial readership of 552,000. With two new standalone launches last year - the Prima Homemade Show and the already hugely successful Prima High Street Fashion Awards - the Prima brand is growing well beyond the pages of the magazine itself.
Red: Total combined print and digital edition ABC – 220,745
Print ABC: 217,806 / Digital ABC: 2,939
Red remains the UK’s leading luxury lifestyle magazine with a continued focus on quality content delivered in a beautiful magazine experience. Red’s strength not only lies within the loyal subscriber base but with the growing online audience to the award winning redonline engaging over 450k unique visitors per month. Exciting innovations alongside the existing Red Direct business are planned for 2013 to drive further connection with the Red woman.
Runner’s World: Total combined print and digital ABC 86,145
Print ABC 82,817 / Digital ABC 3,328
Runner’s World reinforces its dominant position as by far and away the best-selling running magazine in the UK with digital edition sales growth of 239% year-on-year. Runner’s World sells more copies than the other 3 running titles combined.
Women’s Health: Total combined print and digital ABC 104,607
Print ABC: 102,007 / Digital ABC 2,600Women’s Health registers sales increases across the board to build on its remarkable debut ABC as the best-selling women’s glossy launch for 7 years. Print sales are up 1.7% period-on-period, digital edition sales are up over 120% and total combined ABC growth stands at 3.1%.
Zest: Total combined print and digital edition ABC – 67,689
Print ABC: 65,419 / Digital ABC: 2,270
Zest continues to lead the women’s monthly Health and Beauty market in the latest ABCs. 2013 will see Zest enter a new phase with the stylish re-design and new content from the March issue, our first news-stand specials and North/ South events for the biggest ever Zest Challenge. New Zest is the ultimate package for women seeking inspiring ways to live well
Weeklies
Best: Total combined print and digital edition ABC – 236,605
Print ABC: 236,430 / Digital ABC: 175
Now in its silver anniversary year, Hearst UK’s popular classic weekly Best puts in a solid performance without reliance on either price promotion or by only offering consumers full run multipacks. In this period Best expanded its popular special series adding seasonal and style themed issues to the range and tapped into the UK baking trend with the launch of a Best Baking partwork.
Reveal: Total combined print and digital edition ABC – 213,312
Print ABC: 211,620 / Digital ABC: 1,692
Reveal puts in a steady performance in the challenging celebrity weekly sector while firmly establishing itself as multiplatform brand. New website www.reveal.co.uk has seen massive audience growth since July 2012 with its latest monthly unique users standing at 408,841. Additionally 1,692 users now choose to purchase Reveal on Apple newsstand, more recently as an enhanced edition at a premium price.
Real People: Total combined print and digital edition ABC – 186,007
Print ABC: 185,623 / Digital ABC: 384
Real People outperforms the market as it continues to mix true life stories and puzzles. The brand’s first eBook True Life Crime – Volume One is currently moving up the eBook charts and today sees the launch of Real People’s first puzzle app. The brand will be giving consumers a new puzzle app to download every week and free entry to a special £1,000 weekly jackpot.
Inside Soap: Total combined print and digital edition ABC – 151,738
Print ABC: 150,765 / Digital ABC: 973
The UK’s No1 soap title, Inside Soap, puts in an improved year on year performance while delivering week on week growth for its digital editions across multiple platforms including Apple and Kindle Fire. The star-studded 2012 Inside Soap Awards generated coverage with a media value in excess of twenty million pounds!
All About Soap: Total combined print and digital edition ABC – 74,698
Print ABC: 74,076 / Digital ABC: 622
Delivering on its ‘2 weeks revealed’ mantra, All About Soap puts in a robust performance and continues to serve up a fortnightly fix of soap gossip to a loyal readership of soap fanatics.
Saga Magazine
Saga Magazine retains long-held position as UK’s bestselling monthly
Saga Magazine posts an ABC of 591,233 and enjoys its 12th consecutive period as the UK’s bestselling paid-for monthly magazine.
Outselling its nearest rival by more than 300,000 copies per month, Saga Magazine is certainly setting a standard for high-quality journalism, and maintaining an enviable 99.6% actively purchased subscriber base.
Katy Bravery, Editor, said: “It’s been another successful year for Saga Magazine despite the economic uncertainty. Saga Magazine retaining its position as the UK’s bestselling monthly is a testament to the unique relationship we have with our subscription-only readers.”
Martin Smith, Director of Media, said: “It’s great to see Saga Magazine at the top of the list yet again. With 99.6% of our subscriber base actively purchasing the magazine, this shows they are engaged and committed to the title. A perfect audience for any advertiser trying to tap in to such a lucrative market.”
ShortList Media
SHORTLIST MEDIA CELEBRATES EXCEPTIONAL ABC RESULTS
• ShortList achieves milestone 10th consecutive ABC increase – to 531,733 per week
• Shortlist MODE reveals debut ABC at 268,879 copies bi-annually
• Stylist rises again to a new high of 433,482 per week!
• Web and Digital brands continue to extend their reach
Figures released today by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) show continued dominance for ShortList in the men’s market and further growth in terms of share for Stylist in the women’s fashion and lifestyle sector, with both titles increasing by 0.5% in the last six months and 1% over the last year.
ShortList magazine
ShortList’s new weekly ABC is 531,733 and is the title’s tenth consecutive increase stretching back to launch in 2007. ShortList’s market-leading share grows to 43.6%, as the men’s lifestyle sector begins to stabilise. With a lead of 229k copies, ShortList consolidated its position at 76% larger than the number two title, Sport and 162% larger than the nearest monthly title, Men’s Health.
In the last six months Shortlist has delivered more ground-breaking work which once again demonstrates the remarkable engagement the title has with its readers. The interactive gaming special, with a Blippar enabled playable front cover and the Sitcom Writing competition, were just two of the remarkable initiatives the magazine delivered in late 2012. The stalwarts of ShortList: A-List cover stars, intelligent content, bold design and exclusives across style, grooming, film and music have continued, and in this forthcoming period a new emphasis on tech will add to the mix, including the launch of a new technology design awards.
In addition MODE, Shortlist’s bi-annual Style and Fashion brand announces its first ABC via this audit period. The full glossy, fashion & style guide for modern urban men distributes 268,879 copies twice per year around the key Spring & Autumn fashion periods. The title has been gratefully received by the style obsessed segment of our wider audience who see it as an extension and enhancement of our weekly fashion and grooming coverage. With over a ¼ million copies hitting the streets of the UK’s biggest urban conurbations MODE provides a scale and reach that other pure fashion titles can only dream about. With the prestigious ABC audit delivering an official and accurate recording of the titles’ distribution advertisers can continue to confidently invest with the title enjoying both the uniquely relevant environment and the unequalled reach.
Editor Martin Robinson says: “Massive thank you to our readers for their continuing support. Ten consecutive ABC increases are pretty impressive, and I believe it comes from listening to our readers, and working tirelessly to entertain and engage them in new ways every week. It’s incredibly exciting to work on a title with such a large and clearly loyal audience.”
Publisher Darren Singh says: “It’s a red letter day for Shortlist, with the main title recording an incredible 10th consecutive ABC increase and MODE posting its debut figures it’s fair to say we are in a buoyant position. Our ability to deliver upmarket and engaged audiences, with scale, is a fantastic opportunity for advertisers. The results can be seen in the quality of brands that are choosing to work with ShortList and indeed MODE as the brands go from strength to strength.”
Stylist
Stylist has enjoyed six very exciting months, winning two important accolades at the BMSE Awards in November, Editor of the Year and Art Director of the year to add to the Editor of the Year and Media Brand of the year that the title won at the PPA Awards in June!
During this ABC period the title sees its audited ABC stretch to 433,482, a sixth consecutive ABC increase for the brand. In market share terms, Stylist represents 21.3% of the market – and is the weekly market leader, some 247k copies per week ahead of Grazia.
Stylist has created a magazine live from the Saatchi Gallery, produced a stunning illustrated issue for Christmas and thanks to our Fair Game Awards, 10 amateur female sports teams and five up-and-coming young sportswomen will receive £50,000 in kit and cash in a deal with Adidas.
Our glossy fashion specials go from strength to strength with our autumn edition hitting 166 pages supported by top name advertisers such as Mulberry, Russell & Bromley and DKNY. Just to round off a fantastic six months Shortlist Media is about to launch Stylist France in a joint venture with Groupe Marie Claire, an outstanding achievement for a magazine just three and a half years old.
Susan Riley, Acting Editor of Stylist says: “Year three of Stylist was our strongest yet, with the brand pulling off yet more editorial firsts, including an issue that saw the team become an art installation at the Saatchi and a truly interactive Olympic edition with click-to-move cover and content. Stylist is one of the most exciting brands in the industry to work on; I am very lucky to have an incredibly dedicated team whose passion for the brand is matched only by our wonderfully loyal readers. With our first international edition afoot, the year ahead is guaranteed to be even bigger than the one just gone."
Publishing Director Glenda Marchant says: “Stylist is always pushing the editorial boundaries which means its readers are constantly surprised and engaged by the title. Over 10,000 women responded to our Stylist Census last autumn which demonstrates the level of engagement the title enjoys. The advertising base continues to expand with 122 new brands advertising in Stylist in 2012”.
The growth story is not confined to print as digitally, Shortlist Media continues to grow its online and mobile scale and reach.
• Shortlist.com is consistently delivering ¾ million unique’s per month generating between 8 and 9 million page impressions.
• Stylist.co.uk has now broken through the ½ million unique’s milestone and is consistently delivering in access of 5 million page impressions per month.
• Emerald Street, the stylish daily email for professional women has 80,000 loyal subscribers engaging with the brand every day of the working week.
• Mr Hyde, our newest e-mail brand for urban ABC1 males smashed through its launch target of 25,000 in just 3 months. The team are poised to announce a stunning new daily subscription level of 40,000 in March 2013.
Mike Soutar CEO for Shortlist Media Ltd adds: “I am incredibly proud of the teams working so hard to produce our print brands every week. I must take this opportunity to pay tribute to the relentless diligence and unarguable talent of our Distribution team who ensure that our brands enjoy the full benefit of our unique nationwide distribution network. Their efforts on our behalf are never more apparent than at each successive ABC audit release.”
Slimming World
Move over sex and shopping: Slimming World magazine takes UK number-one glossy slot!
Just like its readers, Slimming World magazine is celebrating fabulous new figures after increasing its circulation for the seventh consecutive year and taking the top six slot in the consumer magazine charts – the highest-ever placing for a slimming title.
Latest ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulations) figures for July to December 2012 released yesterday (Thursday, February 14th 2013) see the magazine’s circulation hit an unprecedented high of 447,456, breaking its own record for the highest-ever ABCs of any slimming title. They show Slimming World magazine has seen an increase in circulation of 6.5% period on period and 11.1% year on year, meaning it’s the only title in its sector and in the top 20 actively purchased titles to record an increase year on year.
The new stats also see the magazine jump three places further up the actively purchased magazines league table from 9th to 6th, taking it above household names like Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan and BBC Good Food. It first broke into the top ten 12 months ago and is now the top ranking UK glossy magazine.
Slimming World magazine, which supports members of UK weight-loss organisation Slimming World’s 10,000 weekly slimming groups as well as introducing new people to the club via the newsstand, has been produced from Slimming World’s head office in Derbyshire since 1998 and is published seven times a year. The publication, which celebrated its 100th issue in October 2012, has held the top spot in the Women’s Diet and Health sector for seven years. Today’s figures show it has increased its dominance as other titles in the sector have seen a significant drop in sales year on year. It now outsells its closest rival WeightWatchers magazine by 276,583 copies.
Editor Elise Wells attributes the title’s ongoing success to raised editorial standards and providing readers with a magazine that offers practical help and support, represents real value for money and – crucially – feels like a treat.
“Slimming titles have traditionally been seen as niche titles – however, our circulation puts us firmly in the mainstream,” says Elise. “As editor it’s been my mission to raise editorial standards and create a positive, helpful magazine for slimmers that reflects the Slimming World brand.
“As the leading independent weight-loss organisation in the UK, Slimming World is passionate about the quality of service it provides. It prides itself on the practical and psychological support that slimmers receive in group and via its online programme. The magazine is an extension of this with real-life experience at its heart. So as well as real-life success stories that tell it like it really is, we’ve introduced dedicated features that help readers overcome slimming pitfalls and understand the emotional issues behind overeating. We’ve also broadened the age range of slimmers and, in response to demand from a growing proportion of male readers, we’ve included more inspirational male stories too.”
Recipe inspiration is one of the main reasons that slimmers – both group members and non-members – purchase the magazine. The food section of the magazine aims to appeal to a wide range of tastes, cooking abilities and budgets, offering healthy recipes and menus that are fresh, delicious and appetising, as well as good for weight loss. Great photography, styling and design all contribute to the quality feeling that’s on a par with the best-selling food titles.
Elise adds: “We’re thrilled that these latest figures show we are getting it right for our readers despite the difficult economic climate and we will continue to strive to improve our readers’ experience.”
The March/April 2013 issue of Slimming World magazine is on sale now and features former Emmerdale actress Kelsey-Beth Crossley, who has lost nearly 3st with her local Slimming World group, on the cover.
The Spectator
ABC figures released today show that The Spectator is within touching distance of an all-time high in sales. Print sales have remained steady period on period at 63,613 per issue in the second half of last year. But digital sales are taking off, with the launch of The Spectator’s new app in October. The ABC figure, combined with digital sales of 5,814 in December, brings the total Spectator circulation to just shy of 70,000 – a figure the title hopes to surpass this year.
Fraser Nelson, Editor, The Spectator said: “All told, we’re about 1,200 copies away from our all-time high – soon, inshaallah, more people will be buying The Spectator than at any time in our 185-year history. Most importantly, that growth is coming from digital sales so it is sustainable. The Spectator's formula - brilliantly-written essays alongside peerless reviews - is finding a new generation of devotees in all parts of the world. If you count our podcast listeners and website users then The Spectator's family of readers has grown tenfold over the last few years. And we are, I believe, just getting started.”
Andrew Neil, Chairman of Press Holdings Media Group, owner of The Spectator said: “The Spectator’s strategy is to maintain high-value print circulation and continue to deliver steady digital growth. We now have slashed the number of free and bulk and invested the saving into digital growth. We are heading towards a record high in our 185 year history, which is a great achievement for the oldest continuously published magazine in the English language.”
JUL-DEC 2012
Headline ABC: 63,613
UK Actively purchased: 38,089
Total Actively purchased: 55,853
