by Herman Manson (@marklives) Last ABC Period: July 2012 to September 2012
The ABC has released circulation statistics for the period July 2012 to September 2012 (ABC Q3 2012). Here are a couple of numbers that popped out for us. We also updated our list of the biggest circulating consumer magazines in SA!
Note: We compare the current figures with the same figures for this time last year and not with the previous quarter!
Biz and Finance
The Finweek and the Financial Mail circulation departments seems to have come to a joint decision to longer put out the exact same sales figures. Good on them. FM upped its circulation to 25,065 from 23,649 at the same period last year (total paid: 22,980) while Finweek declined to 21,978 from 25,670 (total paid: 19,359). New entrant Forbes Africa shows an ABC of 18,919 (total paid 9,688). Noseweek took a bit of a tumble to 15,886 from 18,006 – maybe it’s time to hire some fact checkers and halt the decline.
Health not looking healthy
Shape and Pols/Pulse both closed down resulting in circulation figures for the ‘Health’ niche collapsing from 174,116 to 98,912 (or more than 75 000 copies). Shape competitor Women’s Health is categorised by the ABC as falling under Woman’s Magazines. It would have added 57,270 copies to the category.
Entertainment/celeb news is bad news
heat kept its freefall going and collapsed to 28,316 from 34,592. It’s lost about half its circulation since 2005. 
Huisgenoot declined to 273,772 from 289,068 (and from 281,045 in the ABC period for April 2012 to June 2012). YOU fell to 162,879 from 175,698 and Drum to 115,375 from 130,253. Bona fell to 82,855 from 90,311.
Home not where magazines are
The Home category fell to an average of 823,567 copies sold from 914,863 for the corresponding period last year. SA Garden & Home declined to 58,253 from 62,162. Sarie Kos fell to 50,996 from 60,532 and Sarie Woon to 27,783 from 34,112. But House & Leisure bucked the trend and climbed to 43,991 from 38,215. The biggest circulating magazine in this category is Tuis/Home with a circulation of 79,524.
Playboy a floppy while Kick Off scores, WTF Rolling Stone
Destiny Man climbed to 19,250 from 14,994 (total paid 14,633). FHM continued its decline to 37,444 from 46,877 – in 2005 it was selling 117,365 copies per issue!. Men’s Health fell to 64,186 from 70,575.
Playboy collapsed to 3,839 from 10,818 (and 16,299 in the 2012 Q2 reporting period -we’ve asked for comment and will publish when/if we hear anything). CAR magazine declined to 73,521 from 84,421. TopGear released a circulation figure of 37,096. Kick Off jumped to 61,140 from 45,382.SA Hunter climbed to 40,539 from 35,219. SA Sports Illustrated will be disappointed with its fall to 18,055 from 24,346.
Rolling Stone really can’t afford to not submit its second only ABC figures – but they did it anyway! Single copy sales for the Q2 reporting period came in at only 3,782 (total circ: 12,377).
Weg/Go still rules travel
The combined circulation of Weg and Go magazines fell slightly from 77,540 to 78,155. Getaway climbed slightly to 51,649. SA Country Life fell to 35,183 from 40,306.
Rooi Rose jumps back
Cosmo gained nicely to 85,212 from 81,291 in the corresponding reporting period last year (but down from 90,444 for the 2012 Q2 reporting period). Essentials stumbled to 34,780 from 41,673. Finesse dropped to 73,797 from 84,653. Glamour was down to 70,885 from 78,045. Good Housekeeping posted a circulation of 65,278 (there was no corresponding previous reporting period) which is slight down on its Q2 results of 66,486 – it did however bump up freebies from 16,451 copies to 18,516. Newly launched weekly Grazia posted an ABC of 20,745.
Kuier grew to 78,896 from 47,032 – up once again on its impressive 2012 Q2 results of 72,493. Real grew to 60,986 53,369. Marie Claire dropped more than 10 000 freebies a month to up its circulation to 41,791 from 37,157. Move fell to 125,952 from 138,157. Soul fell to 38,235 from 47,744. True Love fell to 71,126 from 81,633. Woman and Home declined to 86,153 from 91,936. Your Family seems to be going through a rough patch falling to 45,421 from 53,183. Women’s Health fell to 57,270 from 62,933.
Rooi Rose fell to 100,949 from 113,485 but still staged a recovery from its Q2 ABC of 81,555. Sarie declined to 100,855 from 114,884. Rooi Rose dropped an average of 3,614 freebies a month – Sarie 3.
The MarkLives Big Magazine list*
1. Huisgenoot 273,772 –
2. You 162,879 –
3. Move 125,952 –
4. Drum 115,375 –
5. Rooi Rose 100,949 up +7
6. Sarie 100,855 down -1
7. Ideas/Idees 89,614 down -1
8. Woman and Home 86,153 down -1
9. Cosmopolitan 85,212 –
10. People 84,323 – up +1
11. Bona 82,855 – down -5
12. Kuier 78,896
13. Weg/Go 77,540
14. Finesse 73,797
15. CAR 73,521 – down -5
Bona and CAR both fell out of our Big Magazine List (for this list we compare circulation to the previous reporting period rather than the corresponding reporting period from last year). Rooi Rose made it back into the Top 10 as did People magazine.
Our previous Big Magazine List showed 7 magazines with a circulation over 100 000, 2 with a circulation over 90 000 (but under 100k) and 1 with a circulation under 90 000. For the updated list that number declined to 6 with a circulation of over 100 000 while the remaining 4 all showed a circulation figure below 90 000.
* By total circulation. Must have a cover price. Annuals Excluded.
Movement on the Big Magazine list compared to 2012 Q2 data.
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Nice list Herman,
Would be interesting to see all the non-consumer magazines as well like, Jet Club, or even the internal ones at big companies.
Hi Uno – knew you were gonna ask and was busy compiling one! Here you go.
Biggest circulating custom magazines*
(Magazines published on behalf of brands)
1. DSTV Premium & Skottel 1,535,963 (Monthly)
2. DSTV Compact 1,159,748 (Monthly)
3. Discovery 1,061,217 (3xA)
4. Foschini Retail Group Club Magazine 1,012,338 (Monthly)
5. Jet Club 915,678 (10xA)
6. Edgars Club Magazine 906,376 (Monthly)
7. Clicks Club Card 603,305 (AltM)
8. Lewis Stores 460,505 (AltM)
9. JD Group Club Magazines (A) 377,226 (Monthly)
10. RCS Lifestyle (Q) 350,000
11. Foschini Sports 237,645 (Monthly)
12. JD Group Club Magazines (B) 211,231 (Monthly)
13. Edgars Club Man 200,000 (3xA)
14. Spur Totem 199,000 (Q)
15. Spur Club for Kids (Monthly) 182,652 (Monthly)
*Excluding annuals
Destiny?
Would also be interesting to note which companies publish the custom magazines.
Intrigued to see DISCOVERY customer mag so high up there. Well done Cathy at John Brown Media. Different criteria for judging internal mags though, of course – circulation doesnt always mean profit.
Edgars Club I see now has a price on it, although I assume its free to Club members still. Would someone buy it?
Playboy. WAY expensive and horribly tatty design. The girly component is neglige…negligible. long ago stopped picking it up. GO/WEG! is awesome, but now with sites like Budget Getaways, Travel@iafrica, Sunday Times travel…oh and zillions of sexy travel photos on Pinterest… and let alone most of us can hardly afford to go on holiday…its hard to justify the purchase of more than one or two a year.
TIME I subscribe to, as their subs rates are ridiculously low.
Rolling Stone? you can just look up ratings on metacritic, and a gazillion reviews or interviews.
Social Media and the Interweb in general a) take up a lot of peoples’ ‘reading time’ these days and b) provide content pretty much as stimulating and, in the case of social media, way more interactive than magazines. for FREE.
Like I may well hang out on the VISI or Rolling Stone website or FB/Twitter feeds. Do I really, after that, need to purchase the print mag…? NAG, ROLLING STONE, FHM – all of them – you can find ‘pretty similar’ content online now. So its tough hey…
I don’t think mags will DIE but either they must become cheapie quick reads (I notice HEAT has dressed down somewhat in the last months) or very, very niche-targeted mags that somehow really incentivise their readers to either subscribe or buy or stay part of a small yet exclusive ‘club’.
We buy YOU most weeks. Read it, then chuck it.
Same with TIME.
We buy EMPIRE for R100 at CNA and KEEP it. Big format, lovely covers, good ongoing reference value.
Somehow local mags have to evolve into the former or the latter.
John Brown Media does Discovery and the Edgars ones. I worked there on the CELL C customer mag, until they canned it following the appointment of their new CEO/all the changes at CELL C.
Health mags out of shape? No wonder. You get a free mag with Discovery, Momentum… how much more ‘health’ can one stomach?
In a more drastic future scenario, maybe just about all LSMs will be on cheap China-made tablets, SA will have free broadband most places and advertising will have no choice but to follow magazine and newsprint brands from paper to pixel, because the value will finally be there once the audience is there. Tablets! Take one and call me in 2030.
Nice Herman! Exactly the stuff I was looking for :)
You don’t mention Destiny (woman) nor Fair Lady. How are they doing? What about O mag?
If you add all the subscribers to the various TFG (the Foschini Group) titles the numbers will give it collectively the biggest subscriber base and hence greatest reach. All their titles are sold on subscription and therfore compete against store bought magazines. The titles are all produced by HSM.
John Brown Media publishes Discovery, Edgars Club Magazine, Edgars Club Man and Spur Totem :)