Magazine ABCs: Digital editions and free titles enjoy further growth

Today's ABCs show there is still a growing appetite for digital editions, with titles seeing huge increases in their digital circulation period on period (PoP), namely Economist which has seen its circulation bolstered 72.3 per cent.

Niche/specialist content remains a key driver for digital editions, with Good Food, BBC History and Slimming World making it into the top 10, alongside film specialist titles such as Total Film and Empire.

The figures show that there is a definite skew towards male titles when it comes to digital editions, with Men’s Health, GQ and Top Gear all in the top 10, while no female lifestyle titles have made the list.

News and Current Affairs: Domestic

The sector has seen buyout results, up both PoP and year on year (YoY), with overall circulations increasing 2.6 per cent YoY. Circulation increases have been seen by five of the seven titles PoP within the category, with the likes of The Week, Spectator and the Oldie all registering strong results.

While Private Eye remains the top circulating title within the category, if The Week continues to register increases in the following few periods we could see the title take the top spot.

Women’s Lifestyle/Fashion

While the sector as a whole has seen a drop in circulation both PoP and YoY, there have been some strong results reported from the category from individual titles. 10 titles within the category have seen an increase in circulation PoP and eight YoY.

Women’s Health and Prima are two of the big winners within the category, with a 7.3 per cent and 5 per cent increase in circulation YoY respectively. The positive stories from the sector suggest that there is still an appetite from female consumers for these glossy, ‘coffee table’ titles.

On the other side of the fence, Hearst magazines have decided to cease production of Company Magazine, following multiple significant circulation decreases, Hearst have decided to continue the brand in a digital format only.

Free Model

We have seen for the last few data releases, the free model is going from strength to strength, with many free titles within the top three, if not the top, circulating titles within their given sector. All free titles have posted an increase in circulation PoP, with Asos reporting the highest growth, 5.9 per cent.

It will be interesting to see if the titles are able to sustain this level of growth, although with the buoyancy and demand for the titles both from consumers and advertisers; we would expect to see them to continue to buck the downward trend.

Men's Lifestyle

The men's lifestyle sector has reported a good performance, with the sector increasing circulations by 0.9 per cent YoY. This performance is further supported by the strength of their digital editions, with three titles staking a place within the top 10 circulating digital editions, GQ, Men’s Health and Wired.

Some publishers are still seeing a value in creating print products for men, with the launch of Forever Sport a prime example. The title jumps in at sixth spot ahead of Esquire and Men's Fitness with a circulation of over 62,000.

The free titles remain the top circulating titles with the sector, with both Shortlist and Sport reporting increases PoP. On the other hand, one must question the relevance of titles such as FHM and Zoo in the current market and whether they will ultimately go down a similar route as Company in the women’s market, turning to a digital-only model instead.