1987 circulation: is the slide over?

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Nov, 1987

1987 circulation: Is the slide over?

Consumer magazine circulation is showing signs of health, according to a FOLIO: analysis of the semiannual Fas-Fax report, produced by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC). More than 60 percent of 425 magazines marked overall circulation gains in the first half of the year, compared to 50.9 percent reporting gains one year ago. And the long-suffering single-copy category showed signs of recovery: 53.8 percent of 385 titles reported single-copy gains in units sold--a considerable increase over the 46.2 percent that noted growth in 1986.

These signs were shored up by reassuring progress in unit sales. The total number of copies sold by the 425 magazines increased to 325,112,000 during the first half of this year--a 4.6 percent gain over the same period last year. Newsstand sales also racked up a 3.3 percent gain, to 88,632,000, although nine of the top 10 newsstand titles were down in sales. Subscription sales were up 5.1 percent, to 236,480,000.

Although subscription sales continue to outpace newsstand sales, the single-copy gains are particularly noteworthy. Even though many major magazines are down on the newsstand, more magazines, says circulation consultant E. Daniel Capell, are reporting single-copy gains than at any time during the past five years.

What do the slight overall gains mean for the industry? Circulation consultant Ron Moyer notes that, although many clients have regained circulation from last year's losses, "people are running hard to stay in place.' But consultant David Foster believes that many publishers are simply playing it smarter, focusing on the value of their readers rather than simply increasing the total readership.

TV Guide takes top spot

TV Guide replaced Reader's Digest as the top-selling magazine in the United States, reporting a weekly average circulation of 17,281,955; Reader's Digest, which began cutting its rate base last year, missed ABC's reporting deadline, but says that its circulation was 16,849,550, down 2.6 percent from 1986. The other magazines leading in overall circulation are Modern Maturity (15,986,938), National Geographic (10,461,337), Better Homes and Gardens (8,093,630), Family Circle (5,994,327), McCall's (5,349,181), Woman's Day (5,263,894), Good Housekeeping (5,175,638) and Ladies' Home Journal (5,043,143).

Good Food, which absorbed the circulation of Great Foods magazine, enjoyed the largest percentage increase --rising 168 percent from 352,251 to 946,031. (This was also the third highest overall unit increase.) Elle, the French import published by Murdoch Magazines, boosted circulation by 247,406 (52.4 percent) to 719,238. The biggest gainer in unit circulation, Modern Maturity (published by the American Association of Retired Persons), increased by nearly 2.4 million to 15,986,938. Large increases were also posted by Discover (up 407,562) and TV Guide (up 407,478). Discover was aided significantly by the purchase of the subscription lists of Science Digest and Science '86.

On the single-copy side, the largest gains were registered by Soap Opera Digest (up 178,847), Elle (up 147,405), Playboy (up 85,896) and McCall's (up 79,297).

Playboy's success is particularly notable, considering that the title had declined by over 700,000 units in newsstand sales during the second half of 1986. The magazine's executives say that retailers who had spurned the magazine are beginning to sell the title again. Other adult sophisticate titles were not so fortunate on the newsstand: Cheri dropped 15 percent, High Society fell by 4.0 percent and Gallery was down 7.5 percent.

Some successful categories

The Seven Sisters magazines, which make up many of the top-circulation titles, showed mixed results, as three titles gained circulation and four lost. McCall's had the largest increase, a modest 1.4 percent, while Family Circle suffered the biggest drop--8.5 percent.

General business magazines did well, as all the major titles enjoyed circulation boosts, and many marked single-copy gains. Financial World, up 30 percent, had the biggest jump in total circulation, while Business Week boosted its newsstand sales by an impressive 49.5 percent.

Many weeklies and biweeklies registered overall circulation gains, including Newsweek, U.S. News & World Report, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, People, TV Guide and Us. Time, however, dropped 2.8 percent. The New Yorker, while up 5.7 percent overall, declined 12.7 percent in newsstand sales during a time of upheaval in its editorial staff.

Shelter magazines, by and large, prospered during the first half of 1987. Architectural Digest, Country Home, Country Living, House Beautiful, Southern Living and Home all raised overall circulation; Home led the pack with a 12.2 percent increase.

In men's magazines, Esquire, Gentlemen's Quarterly and M went up in overall circulation, but the two major sophisticate titles, Playboy (despite its single-copy success) and Penthouse, continued their decline. The former slid 5.9 percent, and the latter dropped 16.7 percent.