News and current affairs continued to be one of the most resilient consumer magazine sectors in the first half of the year.
The Economist, The Week, The Oldie, Private Eye, MoneyWeek and Prospect all managed to grow their sales according to figures release by ABC today for the half year to June.
Despite the financial downturn, or perhaps because of it, financial advice weekly MoneyWeek managed a 15.3 per cent year-on-year circulation rise to 41,282.
According to managing director Toby Bray: “MoneyWeek has guided readers through the financial turmoil of the past two years, and we have been proven correct in our predictions of the credit crunch, the banking crisis and the property crash. Whereas most financial and investment analysis is hard work to read, we do our utmost to make it enjoyable as well as useful.”
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The Economist was another financial title doing well despite the crisis in the banking sector. Its UK sale rose 2.6 per cent to 187,341. However some 21 per cent of its circulation comprised bulk give-aways.
The Richard Ingrams-edited monthly for older types, The Oldie, was another big circulation winner, growing 19 per cent year on year to 34,310. Its sale has flourished since being bought by a group of investors led by the magazine’s former business manager, James Pembroke, in April 2007. It has invested heavily in subscription marketing and in new supplements such as the quarterly Oldie Review of Books.
Dennis Publishing’s news digest, The Week, continued its long record of circulation growth with a 10.3 per cent increase to 165,609.
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Fortnightly satire title, Private Eye, continued to be as strong as ever, increasing its sale by 0.6 per cent year on year to achieve a circulation of 206,550.
After many successive periods of growth, right of centre current affairs weekly, The Spectator, slipped back 2.4 per cent year on year to 75,095. This was despite the fact that some 22.5 per cent of its circulation was given away.
The New Statesman’s circulation was not included in this round of figures.
Magazine circulations for half year to June 2009 (source ABC)
News and current affairs: Business and finance
The Economist (United Kingdom Edition):187,341, up 2.6%
Business Life (not sold): 95,855, down 0.3%
MoneyWeek: 41,282, up 15.3%
Investors Chronicle: 30,027, down 5.9%
Domestic
Private Eye: 206,550, up 0.6%
The Week: 165,609, up 10.3%
Spectator: 75,095, down 2.4%
The Oldie: 34,310, up 18.9%
Prospect: 27,645, up 0.3%
International
Newsweek – Europe Edition: 189,098, down 1.9%
Time Magazine – British Isles: 133,958, down 1.6%
Science
New Scientist – Worldwide Sales (Excluding Australasia & US/Canada): 106,911, down 5.9%
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