ABC Results Jan-Jun 2007:TV Choice Closes Gap On What’s On TV
What’s On TV, published by IPC Media, was the top title in the TV mag sector once again, although it suffered a circulation decline of almost 6% year on year.
The TV listings title was down by just over 87,000 copies in real terms, to leave its total figure at around 1.4 million copies.
TV Easy, also published by IPC, was down by just over 16,000 copies year on year, giving it a circulation of almost 285,000.
In April, IPC announced an increase in cover price for both What’s on TV and TV Easy, intended to generate more than £1 million in extra retail sales value (see IPC Increases TV Mag Cover Prices).
Another big selling title in the sector, H Bauer’s TV Choice, posted a pretty impressive increase, of just over 8% year on year, a rise in real terms of around 104,000. Its circulation now rests at just under 1.4 million and is only 30,000 copies behind market leader What’s On TV.
Another H Bauer title to perform well was Total TV Guide, up by around 11% year on year to take its circulation to more than 112,500.
However, there was a big decline for the same publisher’s TV Quick, which shed almost 37,400 copies compared to the same period last year, whilst BBC Worldwide’s Radio Times fell by just over 2% year on year, leaving it with a total figure of more than one million copies.
The Radio Timesunderwent a radical revamp in May, intended to freshen it up for the digital era and arrest flagging sales (see Radio Times Gets Revamp For Digital Age).
TV Times, which published a Princess Diana commemorative issue in June (see TVTimes To Publish Diana Commemorative Issue), recorded a drop in circulation of around 19,700 copies year on year, leaving it with a total of just over 353,000.
| TV Listings Magazines: Jan-Jun 2007 Year On Year Comparisons | |||||
| Title | Publishing Co | Jan-Jun 06 | Jan-Jun 07 | Actual Change | % Ch |
| Radio Times | BBC Worldwide Ltd | 1,070,042 | 1,046,601 | -23,441 | -2.2 |
| Total TV Guide | H Bauer Publishing | 101,295 | 112,534 | 11,239 | 11.1 |
| TV & Satellite Week | IPC Media Ltd | 211,822 | 201,532 | -10,290 | -4.9 |
| TV Choice | H Bauer Publishing | 1,287,773 | 1,391,774 | 104,001 | 8.1 |
| TV Easy | IPC Media Ltd | 301,576 | 284,867 | -16,709 | -5.5 |
| TV Quick | H Bauer Publishing | 262,172 | 224,799 | -37,373 | -14.3 |
| TV Times | IPC Media Ltd | 372,712 | 353,014 | -19,698 | -5.3 |
| What’s On TV | IPC Media Ltd | 1,509,519 | 1,422,486 | -87,033 | -5.8 |
Unlike most of the other sectors covered in this period’s ABC release, the soap magazines had a good time of it.
All About Soap and Inside Soap, both published by Hachette Filipacchi, recorded climbs of around 17% and 8.5% respectively.
All About Soap now has a circulation of just over 87,600, while Inside Soap rests at nearly 198,900.
Meanwhile, IPC Media’s Soaplife was up by just over 18% year on year, to take its circulation to more than 109,400.
| Soap Magazines: Jan-Jun 2007 Year On Year Comparisons | |||||
| Title | Publishing Company | Jan-Jun 06 | Jan-Jun 07 | Actual Change | % Change |
| All About Soap | Hachette Filipacchi | 74,856 | 87,619 | 12,763 | 17.1 |
| Inside Soap | Hachette Filipacchi | 183,417 | 198,852 | 15,435 | 8.4 |
| Soaplife | IPC Media Ltd | 92,558 | 109,427 | 16,869 | 18.2 |
The figures listed in NewsLine’s ABC reports are those reported by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) as at Thursday 16 August 2007. Late submissions and changes may be made after this date, and will thereafter be amended in MediaTel’s Press database.
ABC: 01442 870 800 www.abc.org.uk