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ABC Analysis Q1 2013: Newspaper circulation decline continues

The ABC has released circulation statistics for the period January 2013 – March 2013. Here are a couple of numbers that stood out in terms of newspaper circulations.

Daily newspapers

Beeld declined to 67,700 from 75,019 in the previous corresponding period. Pretoria News fell to 18,775 from 21,406. Sowetan held steady at 98,258 (compared to 98,128). The Star fell to 106,484 from 124,641.

The Cape Argus fell to 33,247 from 35,493, The Cape Times fell to 35,616 from 39,519. Die Burger (Eastern & Western Cape editions combined) rose sligtly to 62,237 from 61,980.

Daily News fell to 32,002 from 34,173. Isolezwe declined slightly to 116,186 from 117,266. The Witness fell to 19,001 from 20,222 and The Mercury fell to 31,025 from 32,098.

Business Day fell to 33,690 from 35,897. The Citizen fell to 63,854 from 68,632. The Times declined slightly to 142,117 from 142,111.

On the tabloid front the Daily Sun fell from 375,185 to 296,489 (it stood at 322,324 in Q4 2012). Son fell to 92,213 from 104,696

ABC Analysis Q1 2013: The biggest-circulating consumer magazines in SA

The ABC has released circulation statistics for the period January 2013 to March 2013. 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!

Magazines not entertained

On the previous quarter we reported that the ABC figures for music magazine Tempo (from the Huisgenoot brand extension stable) dropped from 62,928 (Q4 2011) to 39,991 (Q4 2012). Well, in Q1 it managed to claim an ABC of exactly 39,991 once again. We smell BS.

Heat fell to 29,422 from 30,193 (but its up on Q4 2012 when it stood at 27,945). People fell to 82,464 from 87,179. TV Plus (Afrikaans) fell to 37,752 from 40,385 and twin title TV Plus (English) declined to 41,594 from 47,140.

Bona fell to 98,267 from 106,981, Drum fell to 121,768 from 138,007, Huisgenoot declined to 285,520 from 298,262 and YOU fell to 165,330 from 181,071 (up from 155,125 in Q4 2012). Reader’s Digest fell to 28,378 from 31,486 for the previous corresponding period. In Q4 2012 it had hit 40,269 – so it’s a bit of a shocker for a title than many have kicked to the curb already.

The Big Issue did very well for itself jumping to 15,074 from 10,651.

Rolling Stone was critised for not publishing its ABC figuires in the last two quarters. They are back in but shows a steady decline – down to 7,155 from 15,889 (total paid: 5,755). This can’t be a sustainable figure surely?

The Red Bulletin slashed circulation to 38,425 from 69,700 (total paid: 19).

How to save TopTV: let customers pick packages of channels at various prices

by Gill Moodie (@GrubstreetSA) Don’t be afraid of competition in the market, say the business handbooks, but rather assess you rivals’ strengths and weaknesses. Everyone does this in business plans and it helps new entries in the market or smaller players to spot the gaps and opportunities.

But what do you do when you’re playing in a market that is utterly dominated by one big player – as On Digital Media’s TopTV that was rescued recently in a complex takeover deal by China’s digital pay-TV company StarTimes – found with Naspers’ DStv Multichoice?

Did TopTV ever actually stand a chance?

DStv was already so entrenched in the local market – and across Africa too. It had nailed down that absolutely essential – and enormously expensive – element of pay-TV: local and international sports rights.

And it had the ability (and savvy) to counter the new entry’s threat by putting money into a big marketing drive for a cheaper bouquet, the Compact, to sign up lower-LSM subscribers that were TopTV’s target market.

Africa’s biggest animation studio – soon also its biggest gaming developer

by Herman Manson. Back in 1996 Triggerfish was a traditional stop frame studio. It did commercials for ad agencies and landed a contract to produce the SA version of Sesame Street, Takalani Sesame, and did such a good job of it that it soon landed the US domestic version, too.

Eric Bana’s S&M cover. Oh wait a minute

Digital growth for the Mail & Guardian

A short while back Mail & Guardian editor Nic Dawes told Grubstreet that the paper’s website was doing very well – with its traffic up by about 40% over the past year.

“We’re rolling out new products,” Dawes said in February this year. “We’re spending money on growing a digital business and our online traffic was up 40% last year. We sell something like 1500 iPad editions and approaching 3000 Kindle. So we’re growing and things are happening.”

That’s great news from the tough little paper that has gone from strength to strength in recent years. It is, in fact, one of the few in SA to have stable or rising circulation so it’s heart warming to hear that M&G online is also growing – especially in a market dominated by the giant News24. Grubstreet tracked down M&G online editor Chris Roper to find out more the website’s fortunes.

Magazine cover tells of heart and how social is changing media

ASME magazine cover of the year announced

The cover of the November 12, 2012, issue of New York Magazine depicting Hurricane Sandy was chosen by magazine editors as “Cover of the Year” in the seventh annual ASME Best Cover Contest, which was open to all consumer magazines published in calendar year 2012.