Magazine ABC Results H1 2012 Reaction: PPA, Bauer Media, Future Publishing, Haymarket, Moshi Monsters, FourFourTwo, Empire, Heat

Here is a roundup of reaction from publishers and organisations within the magazine sector as a result.

Barry McIlheney, CEO of the PPA, said: "This is yet another solid set of ABC figures that underline print's enduring position within today’s multi-platform consumer magazine brands. 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.

"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.”

Despite this IPC Media CEO Sylvia Auton, said that the on-going recession did continue to affect the entire magazine publishing industry; At IPC we remain focussed on editorial and publishing innovation and are seeing some improving sales trends in our women’s lifestyle, fashion and celebrity brands, and our home interest portfolio remains resilient.

“I believe that the quality of our content is the strongest it has ever been, so it remains for us to ensure that we get this content into the hands of our consumers across the plethora of platforms now available to us. The majority of our brands are extending their offerings beyond print, interacting with millions of consumers every week through tablets, mobile, online, social media, brand extensions and live events.”

In reaction to Bauer Media’s title’s, including Heat (290,003), Closer (430,918), Grazia (190,053), Yours (280,804), Empire (167,096), FHM (123,844) Kerrang! (40,203), MOJO (85,149) and Q (64,596), Paul Keenan, its chief executive, said: “Bauer’s multi-platform brands continue to perform well and are reaching new audiences through innovative new digital launches, an integral part of our strategy to deliver content to consumers whenever, wherever and however they want it. Our magazine brands are influential amongst consumers, as evidenced by the Anatomy of Influence study, and with our consistent focus on investment in our products and brands, the reach and relevance of our brands will continue to grow.”

Speaking of the figures for Hearst Magazine UK titles, such as Women’s Health (101,467), ELLE Decoration (75,501), Arnaud DePuyfontaine, chief executive of Hearst Magazines UK, commented: “Hearst UK is committed to publishing great content and making this available to our consumers on the platform of their choice, be it print, websites, mobile, apps or digital editions. And amid these challenging economic times, our strategy is paying off as witnessed by this latest set of figures. The majority of our brands continue to perform in line or ahead of their competitive markets, while a number of them have posted growth both for print ABC and print and digital combined sales. We have also released a truly impressive debut ABC for our newest brand, Women’s Health. Great testament to our strong brands and talented teams.”

Future’s Lee Nutter, publisher of Total Film, said in response to the magazine’s posting a circulation of 68,897; “With record website traffic and an extremely successful interactive iPad edition, Total Film continues to produce must-read content across all platforms. Although we face challenging conditions in a highly competitive print sector, it is extremely encouraging to see Total Film bigger than lifestyle brands such as Esquire and Wired. Our reach is bigger than ever and the brand continues to go from strength-to-strength.”

Nial Ferguson, Group Publishing Director of Technology at Future, added: “The world of publishing is changing fast, and it is essential that official and trusted measurement methods can track that change.

“Tablet publishing is a huge opportunity and transparency is absolutely crucual. Publishers must not confuse commercial partners by combining numbers from print replica editions with essentially different interactive editions. ABC’s Digital Publication Certificate for the first time delivers audited transparency for publishers and their partners. We're proud to be the first to produce this new ABC certificate for the interactive monthly edition of T3. Together with the issue by issue circulation breakdown, we are giving advertisers and agencies greater choice and greater knowledge of what they are getting.”

Haymarket Consumer Media’s football title FourFourTwo saw its sales increase by 19.9 percent to 96,240. Hugh Sleight, brand director for FourFourTwo commented: “We’re naturally delighted with these latest print results, which are just reward for all the hard work, teamwork and creativity of everyone involved. As a lover of magazines, it’s great to prove that print’s not dead. Combined with the great strides we’ve made with our digital products - FourFourTwo.com, FourFourTwo Performance and Stats Zone - we’re now in a very strong position to continue to grow our business both in the UK and globally.”

David Prasher, managing director for Haymarket Consumer Media, added: “I am delighted with the exceptional performance of FourFourTwo on the newsstand for the first half of 2012. Such growth in a particularly challenging marketplace is a remarkable achievement and shows that a maintained focus on and investment in high quality, specialist magazines, pays off.

“In our other sectors, despite a tougher newsstand environment, we are maintaining or improving a competitive position and widening the gap between our titles and their main competitors. On top of that, our brands are experiencing ongoing growth of their online and digital audiences and revenues.”

Finally, as Moshi Monsters Magazine saw its circulation double in the last year, reaching 227,958, Matt Yeo, managing director of SkyJack Publishing, said; “It’s another phenomenal ABC result for Moshi Monsters Magazine and one that shows that the title continues to reach an even larger audience with each issue. The ongoing challenge has always been to create the most exciting, involving and entertaining kids’ magazine in an increasingly competitive market. We intend to carry on building on the success of today’s figure and take Moshi Monsters Magazine to even greater heights.”