August 15, 2019updated 20 Feb 2023 10:55am

News mags ABCs: Private Eye circulation holds firm year-on-year

Private Eye’s circulation has held firm year-on-year, new ABC figures show.

The paid-for fortnightly title, which costs £2, sold 233,565 copies on average per issue for the six months to the end of June.

The Economist had a global print circulation of more than 859,000 for the period, with 159,669 copies sold in the UK and Ireland alone.

The weekly news magazine also claims a total digital circulation of just over 798,500, bringing its global combined circulation to 1.65m.

Its apparent dramatic fall in circulation year-on-year, recorded as 39 per cent by ABC, is down to print figures being compared with print + digital figures used last year, after a change in how it is audited.

When print is compared like-for-like, the drop is 9.4 per cent. Digital is up 73 per cent year-on-year and print and digital combined is up 17.5 per cent.

The Spectator claims ABC previously double-counted print and digital copies for an inflated circulation figure, but has asked for this to stop.

It has in fact sold 77,889 copies in the first half of this year, up nine per cent year-on-year, rather than down 19 per cent as ABC has said.

Editor Fraser Nelson said: “Print subscriptions are growing at their fastest rate since 1995, but we’re recruiting new subscribers through digital means.”

UK news magazine circulations for the six-months to the end of June 2019 (ABC):

Publication	ABC Total (avg per issue)	Year-on-Year % change	Bulks	No. of Issues in period
The Economist	859,232	-39%*		26
Private Eye	233,565	-1%	2,295	13
The Week	145,263	-18%	365	25
Monocle	80,043	-5%	28,087	6
The Spectator (excl. Australia)	76,349	-19%*	1,883	26
The Week Junior	70,115	18%		25
The Oldie	47,002	4%		7
Prospect	44,871	0%		5
Money Week	33,756	-23%		25
Times Literary Supplement	32,129	-22%	6,014	26
Investors Chronicle	30,565	-7%		26