ABC Jul-Dec 2003: Gossip Titles Go Off The Boil

The figures listed in NewsLine’s ABC reports are those reported by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) as at Thursday 12 February 2003. 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 NewsLine.

The public’s obsession with the lives of the rich and famous appears to have reached its peak and the latest ABC results for the six months to December 2003 reveal a slowdown in the rapid growth of the celebrity magazines.

The public interest in the lives of celebrities is far from waning, but volumes across the burgeoning sector failed to show the significant increases seen over the last few years.

Celebrity stalwart Hello! was amongst the worst hit with a sharp 35.9% year on year decline in circulation to 350,374 as readers shied away from its glossy coverage of high society life. OK! was also under pressure with a 9.8% drop during the same period to 570,927.

IPC Media’s Now suffered a 6.1% year on year decline to below 600,000 proving that its light-hearted take on the celebrity scene is not immune to increasing competition in the sector. However, the title recently launched a £6 million television advertising campaign in an attempt to revive its fortunes.

Heat‘s irreverent approach to the lives of the rich and famous continues to prove popular with twenty-somethings with a 2.2% year on year increase to 566,731. The title remains at the top of the celebrity pile, despite failing to replicate the huge increases seen in recent years.

Things were more positive for Hachette Filipacchi’s All About Soap, which saw circulation increase by 10.6% year on year to 112,127. Soaplife dipped by 6.3% during the same period to 107,765, but IPC recently relaunched the title with a new look and extra content (see Soaplife Increases Frequency To Fortnightly).

H Bauer’s TV Choice was among the best performers in the increasingly competitive television listing market, with the latest ABCs for the six months to December revealing a solid 12.7% year on year increase in circulation to over the million mark.

The publisher recently launched a new weekly magazine, The Total TV Guide, to cater for the 10 million UK households with access to digital television. The title sits at the premium end of the listings market and targets men and women aged between 25 and 44 (see H Bauer Goes Totally TV With New Listings Title).

Increasing competition in the sector took its toll on IPC’s TV & Satellite Week, which saw circulation decline by 9.5% year on year to 224,003. However, the title was recently relaunched with the backing of a six-figure advertising campaign including television, press and e-marketing activity (see IPC Relaunches TV & Satellite Week To Boost Sales).

IPC’s What’s On TV experienced a solid 1.5% year on year increase in the second half of last year to 1,654,843. However, its veteran TV Times proved less fortunate with a 7.5% decline during the same period to 524,131.

Minjara’s TV Now saw circulation improve by 4.3% year on year to 35,381 and John Brown Citrus’ Sky The Magazine, which is given away free to digital satellite subscribers, increased by 10.3% year on year to 6,390,584.

Subscribers can access ten years of media news and analysis in the Archive