• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, November 17, 2011

While there has been a great deal of interest in the rise of digital magazines, there has been less information about the exact size of digital magazine audiences -- until recently. Now research outfits, such as GfK MRI and Affinity, are including magazine consumption on computers, tablets, e-readers, and other devices in their magazine audience estimates.

The latest data comes from GfK MRI, which on Thursday released the results of its first magazine audience survey to measure print and digital audiences. The data indicates that digital magazines have made impressive headway in terms of consumer adoption. More than one out of 10 magazine exposures took place solely on digital platforms, with no print component at all. 

In the measurement period from March-October 2011, the total gross magazine audience -- defined by GfK MRI as the number of consumer exposures to magazine-branded content on any platform, including magazines printed on paper -- was approximately 1.58 billion.

Within this figure, 1.278 billion exposures were print-only, involving no digital component; 135 million involved both print and digital components; and 166 million, or 11% of the total, involved only digital components.

Digital-only magazine readers skew younger, better-educated and more affluent than the general population. GfK MRI found that 36% of digital-only readers have an annual household income over $100,000, over-indexing at 143 on a scale of 100 for this measure. 42% had a bachelor’s degree or higher, over-indexing at 151 on a scale of 100. In terms of age, 54% were “millennials," over-indexing at 178, and 24% were Gen-Xers, over-indexing at 110. Just 20% were boomers, under-indexing at 61 out of 100. 

The digital-only magazine-reading audience also showed a skewed gender ratio, with males making up 63% and females 37% of the total.