Magazine readership up since last quarter

Magazine readership is up 6.2% overall compared to the previous quarter however some magazine titles have seen mixed results, the latest EMMA data has shown.

While some magazines have seen a rise in readership over the last quarter, many titles have decreased such as Bauer Media's Cleo and Pacific Magazines' marie claire and Girlfriend.

Bauer Media’s women’s magazine Cleo showed a 7.5% drop from last quarter, going from a readership of 306,000 in December last year to 283,000 currently.

Other titles that have been hit with a readership decline are Pacific Magazines’ Famous and Who, down 3.5% and 2.9% respectively.

Pac Mags’ fashion title marie claire has also dropped off a bit compared to last quarter, falling 0.6% from a 508,000 monthly readership to 505,000.

However amidst the various declines, many titles have also seen their readership numbers jump since December last year.

Pac Mags’ Better Homes and Gardens remains at the most widely read magazine, showing a 3.7% readership increase over the quarter, from 2.406 million to 2.494 million.

Bauer’s Australian Women’s Weekly has managed to retain a flat readership level year on year at 2.417 million.

Bauer’s youth magazine Dolly has also kept its readership levels of 261,000 whereas competitor Pacific Magazines’ Girlfriend has slipped 2.2% from last quarter, now showing a readership of 227,000.

Matt Stanton, CEO of Bauer Media, commented on the results: “Nine months of Enhanced Media Metrics Australia (EMMA) data shows Australian magazine readership is growing across all platforms.

“Across the Bauer portfolio we are focused on getting into consumers’ lives, becoming an indispensible part of the things they care most about, and bringing our advertisers into those conversations.”

Late last month Bauer unveiled its latest research into women’s relationships as well as announcing plans of creating a digital women’s network and launching a further 15 mobile sites.

Director of magazines at Pac Mags, Peter Zavecz was also pleased with the latest EMMA data.

“The latest EMMA results highlight the strength and powerful reach of the Pacific Magazines portfolio, as well as our enduring consumer engagement,” he said.

“Our strategy is to build audiences around our brands, through all touchpoints, and this shows that strategy is working.

“As our brands continue to grow with new products like custom apps, digital magazines and extensions, and our social community numbers keep climbing rapidly, our total audiences are growing. And we’re working with our clients to ensure they access our entire audience in the most effective way, not just the magazine readers.”

Meanwhile over in the land of newspapers, the latest EMMA results show the highest level of readership of newspaper media (anything that publishes news) since the first set of EMMA data was released in June last year.

According to EMMA, 93% of the population aged 14 years (or 16.4 million) consume some form of news on a monthly basis.

“The EMMA data confirms that newspaper journalism is reaching more readers than ever, with growth being driven by all digital platforms,” Mark Hollands, CEO of The Newspaper Works, said.

Fusing Nielsen Online Ratings with EMMA data also shows a higher level of traffic to newspaper websites, according to The Newspaper Works.

The Newspaper Works research and insights manager Simon Baty added: “With Nielsen now providing more comprehensive measurement of the online audience, it’s clear that newspapers are reaching more people than previously thought via their websites.”

However, it’s not all happy days in newspapers as while digital audiences may be increasing the readership of print titles collectively has declined 5.9% since the first lot of EMMA data.

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