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Bauer DC Thomson Abc

ABC Reaction Round Up: Bauer, DC Thomson, Future, Hearst Magazine UK, Egmont, IPC Media

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By The Drum Team, Editorial

February 16, 2012 | 5 min read

The latest ABC magazine circulation figures have been released today. The Drum rounds up some reaction from media companies as a result of the latest figures.

Paul Keenan, chief executive, Bauer Media, highlighted the performance of Closer and Heat magazine in his own summary: “We take a long term view with consistent focus and investment in our products and brands, and this has seen our reach and influence continue to grow. We deliver world-class magazines to millions of readers and these ABC results again recognise the efforts and skill of talented editorial teams. A strong performance for both Closer and heat is reward for our continued product and marketing investment, absolutely knowing who our reader is and engaging with them across multiple platforms.’

Meanwhile, Irene Duncan, head of publishing for DC Thomson Consumer Entertainment, said that in an ‘incredibly tough market’, where titles were down 16.5% year-on-year overall, The Official Jacqueline Wilson magazine, and Animals and You, had performed well.

“It’s also pleasing to be recognised by our peers for the development of this title,” she added.

“Animals & You has experienced superb p-o-p and y-o-y growth. The team ensure that a combination of a great understanding of their audience and key relevant brands such as Sylvanian Families means the title has fantastic shelf-appeal and is a trusted package for consumers. We’re focused on maintaining the upward trend.” Other highlights include superb p-o-p growth for Shout (+21.1%), the only existing Teenage Girls title to show growth in this period, as well as p-o-p growth for The Beano (+3.2%) against the backdrop of a declining Primary Boys market (-0.4%) over the period. The People’s Friend and My Weekly continue to out-perform the Women’s Weeklies market. Of the 11 debut titles in this period, The People’s Friend Specials recorded the highest circulation at 73,142 and The People’s Friend brand now reaches over 330,000.

Duncan concluded, “DC Thomson remains in a robust position in the UK magazine market, with specific areas of strength in the Children’s and Women’s Interest segments. We are particularly pleased with the superb growth of our girls’ titles in the latest ABC report and our subscriber base has grown over 20% in the last year. As befits the company who brought cartoon-strip comics to prominence in the UK, we will continue to position The Beano and The Dandy as great entertainment for children of all ages, as well as valuable tools for literacy, acting as the ‘missing link’ between picture books and chapter-based reading. We will also celebrate these British cultural icons’ 75th anniversaries across 2012 and 2013. Our continued investment in digital media, in particular the recent launch of Apple Newsstand apps across 5 of our titles, including The People’s Friend, underlines our commitment to delivering the highest quality content in all relevant media.”

Arnaud de Puyfontaine, Chief Executive, Hearst Magazines UK, commented: “Hearst Magazines UK is one of the most diverse and agile media companies in Britain today. We are committed to ensuring our consumers are able to access our content on the platform of their choice, in the format of their choice at their convenience – whether it’s through print, websites, mobile, apps or digital editions.”

Meanwhile Future focused on the results of Total Film in the second half of 2011, with a figure of 70,908.

Future, the special-interest media group, today unveils the latest round of ABC figures for Total Film in the period July to December 2011.

Group Publisher for Future’s Film portfolio, Clair Porteous said: “Total Film continues its commitment to developing must-read entertaining content across all platforms, and the overall brand reach is absolutely phenomenal. Despite a challenging and highly competitive print sector, it is extremely encouraging to see Total Film bigger than lifestyle brands such as Esquire and Loaded. Total Film’s brand reach is as big as it has ever been.”

Debbie Cook, director of Magazines, Egmont Publishing Group offered her reaction to finding that the company's Disney licensed publications saw annual growth of 17.5% and 2.5%, while its continued investment in boy's magazine Toxic also saw a 2.5% in growth.

“Egmont has demonstrated the strength of both our licensed products and own-brand titles with strong period on period growth across the portfolio. Through continued investment in our products, combined with a strong focus on our titles digital platforms, we have put ourselves in a strong position to continue this growth and engage our audiences. We are also excited to be involved with the innovative launch of Bin Weevils magazines, where we are extending an online brand from virtual into the print world," said Cook.

Finally, IPC Media CEO Sylvia Auton, commented: “IPC continues to weather the challenging times well and I am delighted that we are once again the UK’s leading magazine publisher by both value and volume.

“A number of really strong sectors have proved resilient to these harsh times. It is notable that empty nesters and those without dependent children are continuing to buy our magazines in large numbers as can be seen by the excellent results from Marie Claire, woman&home, InStyle, Woman’s Weekly and Country Life.

“At the same time, as cash-strapped consumers continue to make the home the focus of their social and family activities, brands including TVTimes, GoodtoKnow Recipes, Style At Home and Amateur Gardening are also faring well.”

Bauer DC Thomson Abc

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