ABC Jul-Dec 2003: Good News For Home Interest Sector
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 latest ABC results for the six months to December 2003 reveal an impressive performance for the home interest sector, which continues to benefit from the popularity of home improvement programmes like Changing Rooms, Property Ladder and Grand Designs.
However, IPC’s Ideal Home recorded a slightly lacklustre performance with circulation declining by 0.9% year on year to 274,488 after the magazine’s editor, Jane Parbury, resigned to concentrate on new career challenges (see Parbury Resigns As Editor Of Ideal Home).
IPC’s foray into modern urban home planning, Living etc, which aims for a younger more cosmopolitan audience, saw circulation drop by 1.4% year on year during the same period to 91,409. However, stablemate Homes & Gardens increased by a solid 3.1% to 162,817 with its emphasis on properties, home furnishings and gardening.
National Magazine Company’s House Beautiful also performed well in the six months to December with a 7.1% year on year rise in sales to just over 180,000. Condé Nast’s House & Garden inched up by 0.1% during the same period to just below 150,000 with its focus on interior design and decoration.
Meanwhile, Emap’s more traditional Period Living saw circulation increase by 3.2% year on year to 72,836 with its selection of real-life and dream homes continuing to hit the mark with its core upmarket readership.
Condé Nast’s World of Interiors experienced a 1.3% year on year increase in circulation to 65,099 during the same period as upmarket 25 to 44 year-olds stayed switched on to its take on interior design.
One of the sector’s best performances came from Romsey Publishing’s English Home magazine, which saw circualtion increase by a notable 14.7% year on year to 81,249, up from 70,831 in the same period the previous year.
| Home Interest Magazines: Jul-Dec 2003 Year On Year Comparisons | |||||
| Title | Publisher | Jul-Dec 02 | Jul-Dec 03 | Actual Change | % Change |
| 25 Beautiful Homes | IPC Media | 134,511 | 128,829 | -5,682 | -4.2 |
| BBC Good Homes | BBC Magazines | 116,468 | 106,213 | -10,255 | -8.8 |
| BBC Homes & Antiques | BBC Magazines | 150,454 | 141,077 | -9,377 | -6.2 |
| Country Homes & Interiors | IPC Media | 103,392 | 94,204 | -9,188 | -8.9 |
| Country Living | National Magazine Company | 164,079 | 174,538 | 10,459 | 6.4 |
| Elle Decoration | Hachette Filipacchi | 61,850 | 60,045 | -1,805 | -2.9 |
| English Home – UK Edition | Romsey Publishing | 70,831 | 81,249 | 10,418 | 14.7 |
| Homebase Ideas | Publicis Blueprint | 493,500 | 395,307 | -98,193 | -19.9 |
| Homes & Gardens | IPC Media | 157,981 | 162,817 | 4,836 | 3.1 |
| House & Garden | Conde Nast | 148544 | 148,716 | 172 | 0.1 |
| House Beautiful | National Magazine Company | 170,019 | 182,025 | 12,006 | 7.1 |
| House & Garden | Conde Nast | 148,544 | 148,716 | 172 | 0.1 |
| Ideal Home | IPC Media | 277,105 | 274,488 | -2,617 | -0.9 |
| IKEA Room | John Brown Citrus Publishing | n/a | 402,808 | n/a | n/a |
| Living etc | IPC Media | 92,695 | 91,409 | -1,286 | -1.4 |
| Period Living & Traditional Homes | Emap | 70,562 | 72,836 | 2,274 | 3.2 |
| Real Homes Magazine | Cabal Communications | 137,595 | 130,510 | -7,085 | -5.1 |
| World Of Interiors | Conde Nast | 64,287 | 65,099 | 812 | 1.3 |
| Total | 2,413,873 | 2,712,170 | -104,511 | 12.4 | |
Subscribers can access ten years of media news and analysis in the Archive