Teenage Market Continues To Decline
The figures listed in NewsLine’s ABC reports are those reported by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) as at Thursday 16 August 2001. Late submissions and changes may be made after this date, and will thereafter be amended in MediaTel’s Press database. For full notes on how NewsLine’s reports are compiled please see Important Notes: ABC Jan-Jun 2001.
Year on year analysis of the teenage market reveals an overall decline for the sector, which saw a 11.9% drop in circulation. DC Thompson & Co’s Shout was the only title to escape the sector-wide downturn, with circulation rising 2.1%.
Mollin Publishing’s Jump failed to hit the mark with 13-19 year old girls, closing last October just a year after its launch (see Mollin Publishing Suspends Jump Magazine), and while Attic Futura’s Sugar, continued to dominate the market with a circulation of 368,559, it too felt the pinch, dropping 11.4%.
Sugar‘s closest rivals in terms of circulation, BBC Worldwide’s Top Of The Pops and Emap Elan’s Bliss, also suffered. Top Of The Pops saw circulation fall by 27.7% and Bliss followed suit, slipping 11.3%
Other big names in the sector, such as Emap Elan’s long running J-17 and IPC’s Mizz also saw circulation fall, but escaped comparatively lightly. J-17 showed the teenage market’s least significant loss, dropping 1.2%, while Mizz fared slightly worse falling 4.6%.
The BBC’s Live and Kicking was the sector’s worst affected title, with circulation slumping 32.6%. However with the launch of Star, The Celebrity Magazine, a lifestyle title aimed at 12-19 year olds (see First Issue Review: Star), BBC Worldwide increased its share of the teenage market.
| Teenage Market YoY Comparisons | |||||
| Title | Publisher | Jan 00 – Jun 00 | Jan 01 – Jun 01 | Actual Change | %Ch |
| Bliss | Emap Elan | 287,897 | 255,251 | -32,646 | -11.3 |
| Girl Talk | BBC Magazines | 100,253 | 93,095 | -7,158 | -7.1 |
| J17 | Emap Elan | 200,030 | 197,611 | -2,419 | -1.2 |
| Jump (C) | Mollins | 80,061 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Live & Kicking | BBC Magazines | 140,168 | 94,504 | -45,664 | -32.6 |
| Mizz | IPC Media | 162,195 | 154,779 | -7,416 | -4.6 |
| Shout | DC Thompson & Co | 116,629 | 119,052 | 2,423 | 2.1 |
| Smash Hits | Emap Elan | 250,388 | 198,621 | -51,767 | -20.7 |
| Star, The Celebrity Magazine (N) | BBC Magazines | n/a | 130,493 | n/a | n/a |
| Sugar | Attic Futura | 415,973 | 368,559 | -47,414 | -11.4 |
| Top Of The Pops | BBC Magazines | 389,245 | 281,417 | -107,828 | -27.7 |
| TV Hits | Attic Futura | 204,805 | 175,518 | -29,287 | -14.3 |
| Total | 2,347,644 | 2,068,900 | -278,744 | -11.9 | |
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