While there are signs the Canadian publishing industry is being impacted by the economic downturn, the Print Measurement Bureau’s 2009 study paints a picture of relative stability from a readership perspective.
This year’s study provided readership data for 119 titles, down from a record 128 titles in PMB 2008 and a reflection of a punishing economic climate that has seen the demise of several notable publications—including Transcontinental Media’s Canadian Home & Country and the St. Joseph Media titles Wish and Gardening Life—in recent months.
“What we’re seeing here, without doubt, is the effects of the economy,” said Hastings Withers, PMB’s executive vice-president, research director.
For titles surviving the downturn, however, the PMB study provided some relatively encouraging news. Average magazine readership remained stable at 1.03 million, while readers per copy among titles common to both the 2008 and 2009 studies was also largely unchanged at 4.9.
The average time spent reading declined slightly—to 40 minutes from 41 minutes in PMB 2008.
The average number of occasions Canadians read or looked into a magazine did dip for the second straight year however, to 2.2 from 2.3 last year. According to Withers, there is a direct correlation between this figure and the decline of TV books in an era of onscreen viewing guides. “There were a number of TV listings books in the survey which are no longer there… and they had a very high pick-up rate,” said Withers.
Among individual titles, What’s Up Kids Family Magazine—which recently changed its name to What’s UP—saw its 12+ readership increase by 81,000, or 20.9%, to 468,000.
According to editor-in-chief Paul Baswick, the increase reflects the title’s increased emphasis on creating content that appeals to both parents and kids. What’s UP was acquired by Metroland’s Paton Publishing division in April.
Elsewhere, CAA’s custom publication CAA Magazine
Other magazines enjoying double-digit readership increases included the independent title Movie Entertainment (+15%), Spafax Canada’s custom book EnRoute (+12%), and Toronto alternative weekly Eye Weekly (+10%).
Two French-language titles posted double-digit percentage increases: Transcontinental Media’s Madame (+12%), and Quebecor Media’s Star Systéme (10%).
A number of French-language titles also saw marked declines in readership, however. Primeurs
Among English-language titles, the independent Harrowsmith Country Life saw its readership tumble 17.2%, to 772,000 from 932,000 in PMB 2008, while Ontario Golf’s readership fell 16.9% to 235,000.
Among major publishers, Rogers Publishing saw readership gains for Canadian Business (a 4.7% increase to 1.03 million) and Today’s Parent’s (a 3.5% gain to 1.9 million), while readership for the newsweekly Maclean’s fell 3.1% to 2.4 million and Glow’s readership dropped 9.3% to 1.05 million. Among the publisher’s prominent French-language titles, L’actualité’s readership fell 2.9% to 885,000, while Chatélaine
But Susan Ellsworth, vice-president, research director for OMD Canada, noted that 12+ readership—the figure cited in PMB’s topline data—is never used by media buyers when deciding a magazine buy.
“It’s hard to look at [these numbers] and make sweeping generalizations,” she said. “If I were a buyer of magazines, I would be looking at these publications on my target, which is not 12+.”
PMB also announced a move to a bi-annual release this year, with a second version of the readership study planned for September. “Measurement in all media is getting faster, and the magazine industry has to do what it can to keep up with that,” said PMB president Steve Ferley.
According to Ellsworth, the switch to a bi-annual release schedule will eliminate some of the wild fluctuations in readership that can occur with a yearly release schedule.
“It’s going to flatten peaks and valleys,” she said.
