ABC Jan – Jun 2002 Women’s Weekly Titles
The figures listed in NewsLine’s ABC reports are those reported by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) as at Thursday 15 August 2002. 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 2002
ABC results for the six months ending June 2002 bring mixed news for the women’s weekly market, which saw circulation decline by 0.7% year on year to just over the 6 million mark.
The best performance was seen by IPC’s Chat, which with its combination of true life stories and competitions, saw circulation increase by 10.4% year on year to 515,000. As expected, the current obsession with celebrity, which led to the succes of Emap’s Heat, also boosted Now, which experienced a 10% rise to 570,279, helping IPC to take a 44% share of the market.
H Bauer’s Take A Break continued to dominate the sector, with circulation increasing by 3.5% year on year to 1,207,384, more than double that of its stablemate, That’s Life!, which saw a 3.6% rise to 590,162.
Elsewhere in the sector, H Bauer’s Bella continued its downward trend, experiencing the sector’s most significant decline for the second consecutive period. The title, which has a heavy focus on food, drink and fashion, saw circulation slip by 8.3% to 444,622. DC Thomson & Co’s My Weekly also saw a notable decline, dropping 6.7% to 294,919, down from 316,081 in the same period the previous year.
| Women’s Weekly Magazines Circulations | |||||
| Title | Publishing Company | Jan-Jun 01 | Jan-Jun 02 | Actual Change | % Change |
| Bella | H Bauer Publishing | 484,986 | 444,622 | -40,364 | -8.3 |
| Best | National Magazine Company | 432,252 | 430,030 | -2,222 | -0.5 |
| Chat | IPC | 466,422 | 515,000 | 48,578 | 10.4 |
| Lady | Lady | 43,490 | 43,510 | 20 | 0.0 |
| My Weekly | DC Thomson & Co | 316,081 | 294,919 | -21,162 | -6.7 |
| Now (See also Celebrity Magazines) | IPC | 518,322 | 570,279 | 51,957 | 10.0 |
| People’s Friend | DC Thomson & Co | 401,817 | 398,035 | -3,782 | -0.9 |
| Take A Break | H Bauer Publishing | 1,166,591 | 1,207,384 | 40,793 | 3.5 |
| That’s Life! | H Bauer Publishing | 569,818 | 590,162 | 20,344 | 3.6 |
| Woman | IPC | 660,781 | 631,451 | -29,330 | -4.4 |
| Woman’s Own | IPC | 538,424 | 518,861 | -19,563 | -3.6 |
| Woman’s Weekly | IPC | 503,722 | 498,268 | -5,454 | -1.1 |
| Total | 6,102,706 | 6,142,521 | 39,815 | 0.7 | |
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