ABC Jul-Dec 2002: IPC’s Chat Boosts Women’s Weeklies

The figures listed in NewsLine’s ABC reports are those reported by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) as at Thursday 13 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 Important Notes: ABC July – December 2002

ABC results for the six months ending December 2002 brought a mixed bag of results for the women’s weekly market, which saw circulation increase by 1.5% year on year to almost 6.2 million.

The best performance was seen by IPC’s Chat magazine, which continued to show strong growth. The title saw circulation increase by 15.6% year on year to 552,800, up from 478,230 in the same period in 2001.

As expected, IPC’s celebrity focused Now magazine also recorded strong growth, climbing 14% year on year to 630,212, up from 552,744 in the same period in 2001. The title added 77,468 to its circulation in the six months to December 2002 suggesting that Emap’s new Closer, which is yet to report an ABC figure, has not eroded its core audience.

Elsewhere in the sector, DC Thomson’s My Weekly experienced the largest circulation drop in percentage terms. The title slipped 10.4% year on year to 273,703, down from 305,407 in the same period in 2001.

H Bauer’s more traditional Bella suffered a 8.8% year on year drop in circulation to 427,855, down from 468,937 in the same period in 2001. However, Take A Break retained its position as the biggest selling women’s weekly in the UK, up 4.9% year on year to 1,204,577.

Meanwhile, IPC’s trademark Woman’s Own had a relatively static period, with circulation rising by 0.2% year on year to 519,388. Woman’s Weekly saw circulation fall by 3.6% year to 486,149 and Woman faltered by 1.3% to 638,036.