MAGAZINE ABCs: Jan - June 2012: The top 100 magazines at a glance

Once customer magazines are accounted for, total circulations of the leading actively purchased titles have fallen 13% in the last year, led by double-digit falls in the celebrity, women’s lifestyles and men’s lifestyle sectors.

Bauer’s weekly fashion magazine, More!, led the falls, losing more than a third of its copy sales in the last year to settle just above the psychological 100,000 mark. Meanwhile, IPC’s men’s magazine Nuts slipped under 100,000 sales a week after falling 21% to 85,081, as did Bauer's monthly FHM, down 12.7% to 92,626.

Just over a quarter (26) of the leading magazines were able to achieve a sales lift during the period, a figure that drops to just one fifth (20) year on year.

Pockets of growth in print sales have been largely confined to the advertising-restricted kids sector, up 12% year on year, which has been led by phenomenal growth of the magazine based on the social networking site Moshi Monsters, up 38% in the last six months to 223,776.  

In a year dominated by a sluggish economy and international political and social unrest, the news and current affairs sector remained popular among readers, posting a year-on-year increase of 5.4%.

Barry McIlheney, chief executive of the PPA, called it "yet another solid set of ABC figures that underline print's enduring position within today’s multi-platform consumer magazine brands".

He added: "The millions of magazines distributed every day in the UK are hugely powerful in connecting consumers with their passions and interests, leading discussions and creating real influence."

During this period, 60 magazines opted to report digital edition sales figures, a significant rise from the 16 who reported in the same period in 2011.

This January to June 2012 ABC release also coincides with ABC’s first-ever Digital Publications Certificate, which enables publishers to give advertisers access to a verified audience circulation figure for digital publications that do not fall within the current ABC digital editions rules.

McIlheney said: "The introduction of the new Digital Publications Certificate coupled with the impressive growth in the number of consumers paying for digital editions shows how tablets are already becoming established as a key platform for magazine brands."

Rank	Title	% Actively Purchased	Jun End 2012	Prd/Prd % change	Yr / Yr % change
1	Asda Magazine	0.0%	1,963,201	0.7%	-0.9%
2	Tesco Magazine	0.0%	1,931,673	-4.3%	0.2%
3	TV Choice	100.0%	1,277,850	-2.0%	-5.7%
4	Tesco Real Food	0.0%	1,223,333	0.2%	0.5%
5	What's on TV	100.0%	1,215,609	-3.0%	-4.6%
6	Morrisons Magazine	0.0%	1,172,807	1.9%	3.1%
7	Radio Times	99.7%	865,562	-6.5%	-3.9%
8	Take a Break	100.0%	786,849	-0.5%	-2.1%
9	Saga Magazine	99.6%	632,217	0.1%	2.4%
10	Shortlist	0.0%	529,010	0.5%	1.0%
11	Virgin Media Magazine	0.0%	500,000	25.0%	25.0%
12	John Lewis Edition	0.0%	480,241	-1.0%	1.2%
13	Glamour	99.8%	470,138	0.8%	-11.3%
14	New!	100.0%	439,326	-14.0%	-14.9%
15	Stylist	0.0%	431,266	0.5%	1.1%
16	Closer	99.9%	430,918	-7.7%	-6.3%
17	Slimming World Magazine	99.9%	420,011	4.3%	20.2%
18	Good Housekeeping	99.9%	408,569	-8.8%	-5.2%
19	Emma's Diary Pregnancy Guide	0.0%	403,025	2.7%	1.6%
20	Chat	100.0%	368,334	-1.7%	-6.0%
21	The Garden	0.0%	359,897	2.1%	4.4%
22	Benhealth	0.0%	356,089	0.9%	1.3%
23	OK! Magazine	98.6%	355,969	-8.4%	-24.8%
24	Woman & Home	98.2%	353,731	-6.9%	-4.5%
25	Cosmopolitan	99.9%	353,413	-6.4%	-8.6%
26	HELLO!	90.4%	352,985	-5.4%	-14.6%
27	Waitrose Kitchen	0.0%	351,442	-0.7%	1.4%
28	Woman's Weekly	99.9%	327,831	-4.3%	-3.6%
29	Sport	0.0%	305,676	0.3%	-0.2%
30	That's Life	100.0%	305,074	-6.6%	-5.1%
31	National Geographic Magazine	97.3%	294,709	-2.4%	-3.4%
32	Heat	97.3%	290,003	-10.9%	-11.2%
33	Star	100.0%	288,533	-19.8%	-28.9%
34	Reader's Digest	86.4%	285,006	-25.7%	-35.5%
35	Yours	92.7%	280,804	-0.7%	-1.8%
36	Woman	100.0%	279,362	-1.0%	-2.6%
37	BBC Good Food	99.8%	267,164	-14.6%	-9.3%
38	TV Times	99.9%	265,550	-9.9%	-8.5%
39	Prima	99.9%	264,312	-6.2%	-5.7%
40	Best	100.0%	261,634	-5.6%	-6.6%
41	Now	100.0%	259,318	-1.1%	-16.1%
42	Marie Claire	85.6%	255,021	-4.4%	1.7%
43	BBC Gardeners' World	97.1%	254,530	17.5%	-4.1%
44	Look	91.9%	250,071	-10.8%	-16.7%
45	Peoples Friend	99.9%	249,880	-2.9%	-6.8%
46	Sainsbury's Magazine	98.2%	244,497	-7.4%	-4.1%
47	The Economist - Continental Europe Edition	67.6%	235,058	-2.8%	-2.4%
48	Reveal	100.0%	233,186	-16.3%	-25.1%
49	Woman's Own	100.0%	232,107	-3.4%	-5.6%
50	Bella	100.0%	229,242	-2.3%	-4.3%
51	Moshi Monsters Magazine	100.0%	227,958	34.1%	N/A
52	Red	96.2%	226,116	-2.2%	-2.2%
53	Private Eye	99.0%	226,046	-0.9%	9.6%
54	Candis	92.5%	223,584	-0.4%	-5.3%
55	Odeon Magazine	0.0%	221,540	23.2%	18.6%
56	Men's Health	91.3%	216,336	-2.2%	-0.9%
57	Pick Me Up	100.0%	212,915	-12.4%	-18.6%
58	The Economist - United Kingdom Edition	76.4%	210,386	0.0%	0.0%
59	Vogue	94.8%	205,033	-2.7%	-2.7%
60	High Life	0.0%	200,310	13.0%	10.3%
61	Real People	100.0%	197,288	-3.4%	-5.5%
62	Ideal Home	96.5%	193,203	-1.1%	-6.1%
63	The Week	88.3%	191,401	2.1%	4.2%
64	Country Living	99.9%	190,177	-0.7%	-7.7%
65	Grazia	95.1%	190,053	-7.5%	-13.5%
66	Elle (U.K.)	92.4%	189,568	-2.8%	-3.8%
67	Weightwatchers Magazine	99.9%	187,546	2.2%	-6.2%
68	Love It!	100.0%	172,061	-14.0%	-18.9%
69	TV & Satellite Week	99.9%	168,630	-2.8%	-4.6%
70	Empire	99.5%	167,096	0.0%	-2.3%
71	Easy Living	97.1%	164,019	17.1%	3.8%
72	Instyle UK	84.2%	163,432	-7.1%	-6.7%
73	BBC Top Gear Magazine	90.5%	155,017	-14.0%	-18.6%
74	Inside Soap	100.0%	154,657	-1.8%	-6.3%
75	Full House	99.3%	150,168	-12.7%	-10.7%
76	Ikea Family Live	0.0%	150,000	11.3%	0.0%
77	TV Easy	100.0%	148,664	-1.2%	-8.3%
78	The Economist - Asia Pacific Edition	70.3%	143,328	-2.2%	-1.8%
79	Company	99.8%	143,269	-23.9%	-20.5%
80	Homes & Gardens	84.6%	131,555	-5.3%	-4.5%
81	Healthy	100.0%	130,031	-3.2%	-18.8%
82	Your Home	96.5%	130,012	-1.3%	-2.3%
83	House & Garden	76.3%	126,841	-0.4%	-0.3%
84	House Beautiful	100.0%	126,497	-4.9%	-11.6%
85	FHM	82.9%	123,844	-12.0%	-20.4%
86	My Weekly	99.9%	121,283	-2.2%	-2.7%
87	Total TV Guide	99.9%	121,052	-1.5%	3.1%
88	GQ	83.9%	120,139	0.0%	1.6%
89	Harpers Bazaar	73.4%	119,274	-0.6%	0.4%
90	Essentials	99.2%	119,087	-7.6%	-6.2%
91	Harrods Magazine	0.2%	109,913	-8.4%	4.7%
92	The Fly	0.0%	108,827	8.2%	8.4%
93	More!	99.9%	106,065	-30.5%	-37.6%
94	25 Beautiful Homes	99.9%	102,012	2.0%	-5.5%
95	Vanity Fair	87.9%	100,692	-1.8%	0.1%
96	Women's Health	100.0%	100,289	N/A	N/A
97	Country Homes and Interiors	99.9%	99,676	2.5%	7.7%
98	Living etc	99.9%	98,250	0.1%	1.2%
99	RWD	0.0%	96,652	0.4%	-1.7%
100	Four Four Two	97.1%	96,240	0.0%	19.9%

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This article was first published on mediaweek.co.uk