Magazine Circulation Suffered in 2011

by Jack Loechner, Feb 28, 2012, 6:15 AM

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According to The Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), reported by Media Buyer, membership publication AARP topped the second half of 2011 list of consumer magazine circulation, with their Magazine and Bulletin combining to reach 44.6 million subscribers.

Excluding all membership based subscriptions, (including AAA Living and American Legion Magazine), Better Homes and Gardens tops the list, with 22.2 million subscribers, down slightly from 2010. BHG claims a monthly readership of 38.33 million readers, 30.28 million of whom are women.

There is likely very little crossover in demographics between BHG and #4 on the list, Game Informer, says the report, covering the interactive gaming market. Publisher Sunrise Publications offers no insight into its demographics (which presumably reflects those of gamers, being largely male and under 30).

Still, single-copy sales were down 9.96% during the period, which Media Life called the “steepest slide in the last four reporting periods.” Single-copy sales across 408 consumer titles dropped from 32,118,948 in the latter half of 2011 to 28,919,153. They were down 9.15% during the first half of 2011, and down 7.27% in latter 2010.

Ad pages were down in 2011 as well, and consumers likely cut back on impulse buys, particularly of celebrity titles like OK!. Newsstand sales of OK! plumeted 27.5%. Women’s titles suffered as well, with Oprah Winfrey’s O down 32%.

Still, publishers are pushing valiantly into the digital space. According to researchers GfK MRI, 71% of tablet owners say they are interested in reading magazines on their devices. Publishers are not surrendering on the newsstands, either, evidenced by the launch of a revamped Ladies’ Home Journal, (12th among paid subscriberships in latter 2011, absent from the top 25 in newsstand sales).

ABC released the semiannual FAS-FAX report for U.S. consumer magazines, which includes the top-line circulation data for all magazine members for the second half of 2011.

Top 25 U.S. Consumer Magazines by Total Paid & Verified Circulation (Preliminary Figures)
	Total Paid & Verified
Publication	6 months ending 12/31/11	6 months ending 12/31/10	% Change
Aarp The Magazine	22,407,421	23,748,475	-5.65%
Aarp Bulletin	22,171,632	23,574,132	-5.95%
Better Homes And Gardens	7,617,844	7,677,497	-0.78%
Game Informer Magazine	7,514,460	5,073,003	48.13%
Reader’s Digest	5,560,046	5,533,037	0.49%
National Geographic	4,480,788	4,493,024	-0.27%
Good Housekeeping	4,341,426	4,418,398	-1.74%
Woman’s Day	3,886,853	3,895,813	-0.23%
Family Circle	3,872,671	3,841,651	0.81%
People	3,569,811	3,602,006	-0.89%
Time	3,298,390	3,314,946	-0.50%
Ladies’ Home Journal	3,232,354	3,837,286	-15.76%
Taste Of Home	3,230,514	3,253,392	-0.70%
Sports Illustrated	3,178,760	3,174,355	0.14%
Cosmopolitan	3,040,013	2,905,659	4.62%
Prevention	2,874,117	2,900,365	-0.90%
Southern Living	2,865,845	2,846,757	0.67%
Maxim	2,507,318	2,528,569	-0.84%
Aaa Living	2,471,160	2,469,830	0.05%
O, The Oprah Magazine	2,380,782	2,506,037	-5.00%
Glamour	2,353,863	2,307,714	2.00%
American Legion Magazine	2,303,613	2,306,231	-0.11%
Parenting	2,231,783	2,237,158	-0.24%
Redbook	2,224,418	2,232,476	-0.36%
Smithsonian	2,113,637	2,044,406	3.39%
Source: Audit Bureau of Circulation, February 2012

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1 comment on "Magazine Circulation Suffered in 2011".

1. Rob Frydlewicz from RAF Consulting
   

   commented on: February 28, 2012 at 9:44 a.m.
   A circulation of 22.2 million for BHG? Chart reports 7.6 million, which I believe is the correct figure.

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