With some exceptions, such as Our Media’s BBC Sky at Night and Future’s The Week in digital, news and current affairs magazines saw declines in both print and digital circulation in 2023.
Market leader The Economist saw year-on-year falls in digital (-2.5%) and print (-12.6%), with combined circulation totalling 1.5m.
Private Eye, which still publishes exclusively in print and last year managed to grow circulation by 4.4%, saw a decline of 6.1% in 2023 to 233,118.
Meanwhile, although The Week saw an uptick in digital circulation (0.8%), print circulation fell 14.6% to 102,463.
The general decline follows recent lay-offs at major news magazines, such as Time magazine, whose EMEA edition had declines in both print (-15.1%) and digital (-8.4%).
| Print and digital (gross) | Total print circulation | Total digital circulation | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Publisher | 2023 | % chg pop | % chg yoy | 2023 | % chg pop | % chg yoy | 2023 | % chg pop | % chg yoy |
| The Economist – digital publication | The Economist Newspaper | 987,715 | -0.8 | -2.5 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 987,715 | -0.8 | -2.5 |
| The Economist – print publication | The Economist Newspaper | 490,944 | -4.7 | -12.6 | 490,944 | -4.7 | -12.6 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Private Eye | Pressdram | 233,118 | -2.0 | -6.1 | 233,118 | -2.0 | -6.1 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| The Week – print | Future | 102,463 | n/a | -14.6 | 102,463 | n/a | -14.6 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| The Spectator – excluding Australia | Spectator (1828) | 97,858 | n/a | -0.7 | 57,024 | n/a | -11.4 | 40,834 | n/a | 19.5 |
| BBC History Magazine | Immediate Media | 76,001 | n/a | -10.9 | 62,848 | n/a | -12.6 | 13,153 | n/a | -2.0 |
| The Week Junior | Future | 66,360 | n/a | -20.1 | 66,360 | n/a | -20.1 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Business Traveller | Perry Publications | 65,656 | n/a | -2.2 | 63,229 | n/a | -3.0 | 2,427 | n/a | 23.1 |
| Time EMEA – print | Time Magazine UK | 64,053 | n/a | -15.1 | 64,053 | n/a | -15.1 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| New Scientist – worldwide sales excluding Australasia and US/Canada – print | New Scientist | 42,434 | n/a | -18.4 | 42,434 | n/a | -18.4 | na | n/a | n/a |
| The Oldie | Oldie Publications | 40,551 | n/a | -11.1 | 38,110 | n/a | -12.1 | 2,441 | n/a | 9.3 |
| Time EMEA – digital | Time Magazine UK | 33,643 | n/a | -8.4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 33,643 | n/a | -8.4 |
| Time APAC – print | Time Magazine UK | 31,997 | n/a | -24.8 | 31,997 | n/a | -24.8 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| BBC Sky at Night | Our Media | 31,289 | n/a | 43.8 | 13,754 | n/a | -10.7 | 17,535 | n/a | 175.9 |
| New Scientist – worldwide sales excluding Australasia and US/Canada – Digital | New Scientist | 30,483 | n/a | -14.4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 30,483 | n/a | -14.4 |
| MoneyWeek – digital | Future | 26,556 | n/a | 0.6 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 26,556 | n/a | 0.6 |
| The Week – digital | Future | 25,798 | n/a | 0.8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 25,798 | n/a | 0.8 |
| Time APAC – Digital | Time Magazine UK | 22,851 | n/a | -18.3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 22,851 | n/a | -18.3 |
| Espresso | The Economist Newspaper | 21,775 | 33.2 | 73.6 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 21,775 | 33.2 | 73.6 |
| MoneyWeek – Print | Future | 20,785 | n/a | -20.3 | 20,785 | n/a | -20.3 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Investors Chronicle – Print | Financial Times | 20,758 | n/a | -12.4 | 20,758 | n/a | -12.4 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| The Week Junior Science+Nature | Future | 20,274 | n/a | -19.0 | 20,274 | n/a | -19.0 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| New Scientist – US/Canadian sales – digital | New Scientist | 19,672 | n/a | 23.0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 19,672 | n/a | 23.0 |
| Prospect – print | Prospect Publishing | 17,630 | n/a | -4.8 | 17,630 | n/a | -4.8 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Investors’ Chronicle – digital | Financial Times | 16,171 | n/a | -17.3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 16,171 | n/a | -17.3 |
| New Scientist – US/Canadian sales – print | New Scientist | 16,160 | n/a | 16.5 | 16,160 | n/a | 16.5 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Prospect – digital | Prospect Publishing | 13,444 | n/a | -8.2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 13,444 | n/a | -8.2 |
| New Scientist – Australasian sales – print | New Scientist | 11,111 | n/a | -14.0 | 11,111 | n/a | -14.0 | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| The Spectator Australia | Spectator (1828) | 9,954 | n/a | -6.7 | 6,788 | n/a | -12.4 | 3,166 | n/a | 8.5 |
| New Scientist – Australasian sales – digital | New Scientist | 6,864 | n/a | -8.4 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 6,864 | n/a | -8.4 |
| Total | 2,664,368 | 1,379,840 | 1,284,528 | |||||||
Note: The Economist includes figures for the following editions – UK, Europe (excluding UK), Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific, North America and Latin America
