Circulation Data – ABC Analysis Section • Page 9 of 9 •

Fast-to-change SA consumer mags are thriving

by Gill Moodie (@GrubstreetSA) Why is it that consumer magazines consistently outperform our newspapers in circulation figures these days?

Not that it’s plain-sailing for the magazine industry, as we saw in last week’s release of the fourth-quarter Audit Bureau of Circulations of SA (ABC) figures for 2012.

Just like newspapers, many magazine titles are suffering sales decline but it’s not across the board – there are more than a handful that are bucking the trend and some that are doing very well.

Take a look at these three graphs showing how consumer magazines have done over the past four years compared with daily and weekend newspapers. There is a slump in consumer magazines in the last half of 2012 but it is very different from the consistent downwards trend suffered by newspapers over the past four years.

ABC Analysis Q4 2012: Oops! Newspapers just did it again

Yup print newspaper proprietors generally did a decent impression of Britney Spears’ career path judging by the current (continuing downward) trajectory of newspaper print circulation.

The ABC has released circulation statistics for the period October 2012 – December 2012. Here are a couple of numbers that stood out in terms of newspaper circulations.

Note: We compare the current figures with the same figures for this time last year and not with the previous quarter.

Daily newspapers

Beeld falls to 66,132 from 73,486. Cape Argus falls to 32,337 from 44,159 and the Cape Times falls to 34,627 from 42,849. Tabloid Daily Sun is down to 322,324 from 380,683 (336,319 in Q3 2012). Pretoria News – down to 17,576 from 21,721. Son falls to 96,598 from 105,775 and the Sowetan is down to 100,349 from 117,862. The Star – 102,244 down from 128,683.

Isolezwe is up slightly to 106,858 from 103,467.

ABC Analysis Q4 2012: The biggest-circulating consumer magazines in SA

The ABC has released circulation statistics for the period October 2012 to December 2012. Here are a couple of consumer magazine ABC 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!

Not a good quarter for Entertainment & Culture

Music title Huisgenoot Tempo (Quarterly) lost its happy tune by falling from 62,928 total circulation in the previous corresponding reporting to 39,991 in the latest reporting period. heat kept up its decline – will it ever hit bottom? – to 27,945 from 31,753 (and down from 28,316 in Q3 2012). TV Plus (Afrikaans) fell to 37,667 from 41,551 and its English language edition tanked to 41,889 from 48,211. Drum declined to 118,793 from 138,479 and Huisgenoot fell to 270,310 from 283,355. YOU saw a significant decline to 155,125 from 172,403 (and from 162,689 in Q3 2012).

People kept steady at around 85,978.

Bona is up slightly to 97,190 from 95,261. Readers’ Digest climbed to 40,269 from 35,833 (but gave away 7,562 copies for free).

Oh and missing in action: Rolling Stone magazine. Last seen Q2 2012 with a paid for circulation of 3,782.

ABC Analysis Q3 2012: Bad news for newspapers gets worse

Last ABC Period: July 2012 to September 2012

The ABC has released circulation statistics for the period July 2012 to September 2012. Here are a couple of numbers that stood out in terms of newspaper circulations.

Note: We compare the current figures with the same figures for this time last year and not with the previous quarter.

Daily newspapers

The Cape Argus lost a huge chunk of circulation falling to 33,006 from 45,128 for the corresponding period last year. The Cape Times tried to equal the nose dive falling to 34,523 from 43,274. Pretoria News fell to 19,235 from 23,148 and The Star to 105,686 from 136,552. Anybody still bidding for Independent News & Media South Africa? Seriously?

Daily Sun continued its decline to 336,319 from 374,400. Son fell to 94,610 from 103,056, Sowetan to 101,155 from 116,347. Beeld dropped to 70,070 from 76,951.

Isolezwe bucked the trend to climb slightly to 107,628 from 106,734.

MarkLives Big Daily Newspaper List*

1. Daily Sun 336,319
2. The Times** 138626
3. Isolezwe 107,628
4. The Star 105,686
5. Sowetan 101,155
6. Son 94,610
7. Beeld 70,070
8. The Citizen 66,116
9. Die Burger (Wes Kaap) 51,022
10. Business Day 35,828

ABC Analysis Q3 2012: The biggest-circulating consumer magazines in SA

by Herman Manson (@marklives) Last ABC Period: July 2012 to September 2012

The ABC has released circulation statistics for the period AJuly 2012 to September 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

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 for the same period last year (total paid: 22,980) while Finweek declined from 21,978 to 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 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.

ABC Analysis Q2 2012: Daily newspapers — Isolezwe breathing down The Star’s neck

The ABC has released circulation statistics for the period April 2012 to June 2012. Total daily newspaper sales in South Africa fell from the 1,386,504 in Q2 2011 to 1,373,377 in Q2 2012.

ABC Analysis Q2 2012: The biggest-circulating consumer magazines in SA

The ABC has released circulation statistics for the period April 2012 to June 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!

ABC Analysis Q2 2011: The biggest-circulating consumer magazines in SA

The biggest consumer magazines in SA, Men’s magazines, Women’s magazines, Business magazines, General Interest & celebrity, Home & Garden magazines, Sporting magazines, Travel magazines

From print to mobile, this conversation screams Laduuuuuuma!

Soccer Laduma is the biggest-selling sports publication in the country, as well as the biggest-selling male interest publication. It’s also the second biggest-selling weekly paper and the third biggest-selling newspaper in South Africa (after the Daily Sun and the Sunday Times). Not too shabby for a publication as niche in its content as Soccer Laduma.