New data from the Audit Bureau of Circulations shows that Canadian consumer magazine circulation slipped 3.1% in the first half of 2012 to 6.58 million from 6.79 million during the corresponding year-earlier period.
Paid subscriptions for the 66 titles reporting were down 5.9%, to 4.97 million from 5.28 million in January-June 2011 period, while single copy sales declined a more moderate 1.6% – to 1.21 million from 1.23 million a year ago.
By comparison, the 395 U.S. consumer titles reporting year-over-year comparable data saw their total paid/verified circulation remain essentially flat (a 0.1% decrease), with paid subscriptions up 1.1% and single-copy sales down significantly, 9.6%.
The newest unaudited numbers indicate a continued downward trend for paid/verified circulation in Canada, following a 3.6% dip in paid/verified circulation for the June 2011 reporting period and a 5.4% decline in June 2010. Single-copy sales were down 2.3% in June 2011 after a 0.5% increase in 2010.
Reader’s Digest leads all Canadian titles with a paid/verified circulation of 552,664, although it represents a 4% decline from the corresponding year-earlier period. It is followed by Rogers Publishing’s flagship title Chatelaine (550,613, +1.1%), TC Media’s Canadian Living (511,817, +1.2%) and another Rogers-owned title, Maclean’s (321,095, -5.7%).
Canadian Living, which TC Media recently identified as being on a “growth trajectory,” saw its single copy sales increase 8.2% to an industry-leading 123,209, putting it ahead of longtime rival Chatelaine (90,750, a 0.2% increase over the six months ended June 30, 2011) and Canadian House & Home (74,166, up 2.3%).
Rogers Publishing’s celebrity title Hello! is the fourth biggest newsstand seller, yet saw single copy sales drop a precipitous 18.2%, from 84,649 for the six months ended June 30, 2011 to 69,225 in the most recent reporting period. Another Rogers-owned title, MoneySense, saw single copy sales fall 14.9%, to 29,665 from 34,875 in the year-earlier period, while Quebecor-owned 7 Jours saw its sales fall 13.5% to 62,880.
This is the first ABC report to provide data for standalone digital replicas of print titles. In the U.S., 258 magazines reported more than 5.4 million digital replica editions (paid, verified and analyzed non-paid), accounting for approximately 1.7% of total circulation. According to ABC, digital replica magazines more than doubled from the first half of 2011, when 232 reported approximately two million digital replica copies – less than 1% of the total industry.
In Canada, 22 publications reported figures for digital replica editions, led by Maclean’s (8,236), Canadian House & Home (7,918), The Hockey News (1,318), MoneySense (1,089) and Pacific Yachting (1,070).
Disclosure: Marketing is owned by Rogers Publishing.
