abc newsstand analysis 2011 h2

Newsstand Review

2011

Audit Bureau

of Circulations

Based on Preliminary Numbers as Filed with the Audit Bureau of Circulation for 12 Months Ending December 31, 2011.

Attached is our review of the 2011 ABC Fas-Fax

reports. This review looks at 502 ABC-audited titles

reporting newsstand sales for either 2010 or 2011:

•Total Volume: ranks titles by dollar volume for the entire six month period.

•Average per Issue: ranks titles by dollar volume per issue

•Editorial Category: ranks each editorial category by total volume and each title within each editorial category.

All variance numbers, unless otherwise noted,

indicate dollars and units for 2011 versus 2010.

SUMMARY

OVERALL RESULTS

Note: ABC Fas-Fax provides units sold per issue; our analysis combines units sold with cover price and frequency to

generate a total volume number for each title.

Overall units and dollars declined over -11% with audited titles shedding -78M units

and almost -$300M retail dollars:

These numbers are consistent with those from IPDA, which also show double-digit

declines in units and dollars. Unlike the ABC FAS-FAX reports, IPDA numbers

include virtually all newsstand titles.

2011 IPDA RESULTS

0 2011 2010 Var. Pct. Var

Draw 2,411 2,621 (210) -8.0%

Sale 739 836 (98) -11.7%

Pct. 30.6% 31.9% (1.3) NA

Dollars 3,440$ 3,826$ (386)$ -10.1%

Notes: all numbers are in millions; results are for Jan –

December 2011 versus Jan – Dec 2010; includes all titles.

Notes: all numbers are in millions; results are for Jan – December 2011 versus Jan – Dec

2010; includes 502 ABC-audited titles.

Fully 80% of titles posted losses in both units and retail dollars. This is the lowest

ratio of gainers-to-decliners in memory.

GAINERS & DECLINERS



Dollars Title Count 2011 2010 Variance % Var.

Gainers 95 $286 $260 26.0$ 10.0%

Decliners 407 $2,035 $2,355 320.0-$ -13.6%

Totals 502 $2,320 $2,614 294.0-$ -11.2%

All numbers in millions

Units Title Count 2011 2010 Variance % Var.

Gainers 79 49 45 4.6 10.3%

Decliners 423 548 630 (82.3) -13.1%

Totals 502 597 674 (77.7) -11.5%


Unit & Dollar Trends

Almost two of five newsstand sales (-39%) have disappeared since the

onset of the Great Recession (2H2007), eliminating -183M unit sales.

Price increases have marginally stemmed retail dollar losses, which

have declined almost -$550M (-33%).



Total Circulation

Large newsstand declines and weakening subscription numbers

resulted in a loss of 118M readers (-2.9%). Total circulation has

declined -24% since the 2004 high-water mark.



Source 2011 2010 Variance

Pct.

Variance

Subscriptions 3,373 3,414 (41.0) -1.2%

Newsstand 597 674 (77.7) -11.5%

Total Circulation 3,970 4,088 (118.7) -2.9%

Category Summary



While most categories posted double-digit losses, three of the top

five categories managed losses between -1% and -8%. Smaller,

targeted categories fared particularly poorly, several losing more

than -20% of units and dollars.

CategoryTitle

CountUnit Sales Dollar Sales

Unit Sales

Share of

Bus.

$$$ Sales

Share of

Bus.

Unit Variance

to 2H2010

Dollar

Variance

to 2H2010

WEEKLY 16 236.5 892.0$ 39.6% 38.4% -14.4% -13.3%

WOMENS 58 195.0 615.6$ 32.7% 26.5% -7.7% -8.3%

FAMILY/HOME 38 19.5 97.1$ 3.3% 4.2% -2.1% -1.6%

MENS 13 17.9 90.8$ 3.0% 3.9% -12.5% -13.1%

FOOD 20 15.2 70.3$ 2.5% 3.0% -5.5% -5.2%

AUTOMOTIVE 36 10.1 57.3$ 1.7% 2.5% -17.6% -17.5%

SOCIAL/LITERARY 31 11.1 55.5$ 1.9% 2.4% -8.9% -8.3%

BUSINESS/FINANCE 17 8.9 54.8$ 1.5% 2.4% -8.7% -6.6%

SCIENCE 16 9.6 54.0$ 1.6% 2.3% -6.0% -5.4%

NEWS 10 10.5 53.5$ 1.8% 2.3% -3.7% -5.2%

SPORTS 28 9.1 48.5$ 1.5% 2.1% -10.9% -9.8%

ENTERTAINMENT 11 9.3 43.0$ 1.6% 1.9% -14.7% -17.9%

TEEN/CHILDREN 12 11.4 41.4$ 1.9% 1.8% -20.0% -21.5%

ETHNIC 19 12.0 41.2$ 2.0% 1.8% -22.1% -20.7%

REGIONAL 50 7.1 33.8$ 1.2% 1.5% -12.0% -10.5%

HOBBY 38 5.8 32.9$ 1.0% 1.4% -11.0% -10.4%

OUTDOORS 34 5.8 26.9$ 1.0% 1.2% -14.8% -17.1%

COMPUTER/GAMING 4 1.6 9.4$ 0.3% 0.4% -32.5% -36.4%

PETS 10 0.5 2.2$ 0.1% 0.1% -26.1% -26.6%

GRAND TOTAL 461 596.7 2,320.1$ 100% 100.0% -11.5% -11.2%

Category Summary



Nearly 70% of titles with $1M or more sales suffered double-digit decreases in

dollar sales. Womens, Home and Food titles fared relatively better with Weekly,

Mens and Auto titles faring poorly.

Amongst a sea of red ink, a handful of titles demonstrate the

newsstand’s unique ability to both capture consumer’s interest in

current events and build brand awareness and profitability.

These titles have built and grown single-copy sales in the most

challenging environment in memory.

Food is a common theme among the winners. Food Network

Magazine beat all odds with a successful mass-market launch

that has made it the #1 food title at newsstand. Clean Eating has

tapped into consumer’s desire for healthier food choices, while

La Cucina Italiana has found a lucrative target audience.

Canadian titles fill out the rest of the list, capitalizing in a less-

devastated economic market.

Winners



Unit Sales Variance to 2009Title 2009 2010 2011 Units Pct

FOOD NETWORK 1.43 3.50 3.89 2.46 172%HELLO! 3.23 3.47 3.61 0.38 12%CLEAN EATING 0.66 0.78 0.86 0.20 31%MACLEAN'S 0.49 1.16 1.33 0.83 169%ALL YOU 4.96 5.21 5.84 0.88 18%CHATELAINE 0.76 0.75 1.14 0.37 49%L'ACTUALITE 0.20 0.25 0.39 0.20 99%LA CUCINA ITALIANA 0.12 0.22 0.19 0.07 58%All Titles 11.9 15.3 17.2 5.39 45%

Advancers



Canadian titles Chatelaine, Macleans, Hello and L’Actualite all benefitted from

expanded coverage and special editions on the royal wedding. All You is a Wal-Mart

exclusive title. Food Network continues to grow and represents an enormous launch

success for publisher Hearst Magazines.

Title Units DollarsUnit

Var.

Dollar

Var.

Unit %

Var.

Dollar %

Var.

ALL YOU 5.8 $14.5 0.63 $1.6 12% 12%

FOOD NETWORK MAGAZINE 3.9 $15.5 0.39 $1.6 11% 11%

CHATELAINE 1.1 $4.5 0.39 $1.5 51% 51%

TIME-THE WEEKLY NEWSMAGAZINE 4.1 $20.7 0.23 $1.4 6% 8%

MACLEAN'S 1.3 $8.3 0.17 $1.3 15% 19%

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW 0.4 $6.6 0.07 $1.1 20% 20%

HELLO! 3.6 $15.2 0.14 $0.9 4% 7%

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC INTERNATIONAL 2.1 $12.9 0.15 $0.9 7% 7%

NASCAR ILLUSTRATED 0.1 $1.4 0.03 $0.8 31% 147%

L'ACTUALITE 0.4 $2.3 0.14 $0.8 58% 52%

POPULAR HOT RODDING 0.3 $1.8 0.10 $0.6 52% 52%

CLEAN EATING 0.9 $5.2 0.08 $0.5 11% 11%

VOGUE 4.3 $18.0 0.12 $0.5 3% 3%

TOP ADVANCERS 28.4 126.9 2.6 13.5 10.3% 11.9%

OTHER ADVANCERS 34.6 158.7 0.3 12.5 0.9% 8.5%

ALL ADVANCERS 63.0 $285.6 3.0 $26.0 4.9% 10.0%

ABC Totals 596.7 $2,320.1 (78) -$294.0 -11.5% -11.2%

Totals w/out Advancers 533.7 $2,034.5 -80.7 -$320.0 -13.1% -13.6%

All numbers in millions.

CELEBRITY WEEKLIES: the one-time category-driver has

suffered along with the rest of the newsstand, posting double-

digit losses for the third consecutive year.

Total units were off nearly -30M (-14%) and retail dollars

declined almost $-100M (-13%).

•Category units down 42% / dollars down 30% since 2H2007.

•Despite losing more than 1-in-10 readers in 2011 People

Magazine improved market share.

Category Notes



Celebrity Units DollarsUnit

Var.

Dollar

Var.

Unit %

Var.

Dollar %

Var.

PEOPLE 57.6 $241.7 -7.3 -$23.9 -11.3% -9.0%

US WEEKLY 32.9 $131.9 -5.1 -$19.7 -13.4% -13.0%

IN TOUCH WEEKLY 33.2 $99.2 -4.8 -$14.3 -12.6% -12.6%

STAR MAGAZINE 22.9 $91.5 -3.8 -$15.6 -14.4% -14.6%

LIFE & STYLE WEEKLY 18.5 $55.5 -3.3 -$10.0 -15.2% -15.2%

OK! WEEKLY 13.6 $54.2 -4.4 -$15.1 -24.4% -21.8%

Celebrity Titles 178.7 $673.8 -28.8 -$98.6 -13.9% -12.8%

Celebrity vs Non-Celebrity



CELEBRITY VERSUS

NON-CELEBRITY:

For the year, celebrity

titles declined slightly

faster than non-

celebrity titles (-14%

versus -10.5%).

In 2H2011, however,

the declines were

virtually identical

around -12%.

UNITS 2011 2010 Var. Pct. Var.

Celebrity 178.7 207.4 -28.8 -13.9%

Non-Celebrity 418.0 467.0 -48.9 -10.5%

All ABC Titles 596.7 674.4 -77.7 -11.5%

All Numbers in M illions

DOLLARS 2011 2010 Var. Pct. Var.

Celebrity 673.8$ 772.4$ -$98.6 -12.8%

Non-Celebrity 1,646$ 1,842$ -$195.4 -10.6%

All ABC Titles 2,320$ 2,614$ -$294.0 -11.2%

All Numbers in M illions

Top Categories



The Womens category,

which accounts for

about the same sales

as Celebrity, declined at

about half the rate of

Celebrity.

While much smaller,

third-ranking category

Home was almost flat

for the entire year (-0%

units; -2% dollars),

driven primarily by

robust numbers from

food titles.

Both Womens and

Home titles have been

declining slower than

Celebrity titles for past

three reporting periods.

UNITS 2011 2010 Var. Pct. Var.

Celebrity 178.7 207.4 -28.8 -13.9%

Womens 195.0 211.3 -16.3 -7.7%

Home 19.5 19.9 -0.4 -2.0%

All Numbers in Millions

DOLLARS 2011 2010 Var. Pct. Var.

Celebrity 673.8$ 772.4$ -$98.6 -12.8%

Womens 615.6$ 671.0$ -$55.4 -8.3%

Home 97.1$ 98.7$ -$1.6 -1.6%

All Numbers in Millions

Category Notes: Tabloids and Digests



TABLOIDS & SOAPS: long-

term decline continued, with

-11.2M loss in units (-17%) and

$-38.6M (-16%).

Despite losing almost 60% of

sales since 2005, the category

still accounts for 9% of overall

newsstand sales, twice as

much as any category other

than celebrity and womens.

Digest / Tabloid Units Dollars Unit Var. Dollar Var.Unit %

Var.

Dollar %

Var.

NATIONAL ENQUIRER 25.4 $96.1 -2.6 -$7.2 -9.3% -6.9%

GLOBE 12.8 $48.5 -1.8 -$5.4 -12.3% -10.1%

SOAP OPERA DIGEST 4.2 $16.6 -1.0 -$4.0 -19.4% -19.4%

TV GUIDE 3.3 $13.0 -0.7 -$2.9 -18.3% -18.3%

SOAP OPERA WEEKLY 3.1 $9.2 -0.6 -$1.8 -16.6% -16.6%

COUNTRY WEEKLY 2.8 $8.5 -0.5 -$1.4 -15.6% -14.1%

SOAPS IN DEPTH - ABC 1.4 $5.4 -1.8 -$7.3 -57.5% -57.5%

SOAPS IN DEPTH - CBS 1.3 $5.0 -2.2 -$8.6 -63.3% -63.3%

TOTALS 54.1 $202.3 -11.2 -$38.6 -17.2% -16.0%

NOTE: both Soaps in Depth titles failed to report numbers for 2H2011.

Category Notes: Womens



WOMENS SERVICE: budget-priced Woman’s World ($1.79) and First For Women ($2.49) both outpaced competitors, all of which suffered double-digit losses.

BEAUTY: category-leader Cosmopolitan solidified its position, with smaller losses than others.

FASHION: Vogue one of the few titles to post improvements in units and dollars (+3%).

Womens Units DollarsUnit

Var.

Dollar

Var.

Unit %

Var.

Dollar %

Var.

WOMAN'S WORLD 61.4 $109.9 -4.4 -$7.8 -6.7% -6.7%

FIRST FOR WOMEN 17.9 $44.7 -0.8 -$1.9 -4.1% -4.1%

O, THE OPRAH MAGAZINE 5.8 $25.9 -1.4 -$6.3 -19.5% -19.5%

FAMILY CIRCLE 7.9 $19.0 -1.4 $0.7 -14.7% 3.5%

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING 4.0 $13.9 -0.6 -$2.2 -13.4% -13.4%

WOMAN'S DAY 5.4 $13.8 -0.8 -$2.7 -13.3% -16.3%

MARTHA STEWART LIVING 2.6 $12.8 -0.3 -$1.7 -11.8% -11.8%

MORE 1.6 $6.5 -0.4 -$1.5 -18.5% -18.5%

REDBOOK 1.3 $5.2 -0.1 -$0.6 -10.0% -10.0%

EBONY 1.3 $5.1 -0.2 -$0.6 -10.8% -10.8%

LADIES' HOME JOURNAL 1.7 $4.2 -0.2 -$0.4 -9.5% -9.5%

WOMENS SERVICE (13 Titles) 110.8 $261.2 -10.6 -$25.2 -8.7% -8.8%

COSMOPOLITAN 18.4 $76.0 -0.9 -$7.6 -4.6% -9.0%

GLAMOUR 5.5 $22.1 -0.9 -$3.5 -13.8% -13.8%

MARIE CLAIRE 2.6 $9.2 -0.5 -$1.8 -15.2% -16.1%

ALLURE 1.7 $6.8 -0.1 -$0.5 -6.3% -6.3%

BEAUTY (7 Titles) 30.2 $126.2 -2.5 -$14.3 -7.7% -10.2%

HEALTH (18 Titles) 20.4 $91.1 -2.0 -$9.6 -8.8% -9.5%

IN STYLE 6.8 $29.3 -0.9 -$3.1 -11.3% -9.7%

PEOPLE STYLEWATCH 5.5 $21.9 -0.1 -$0.4 -2.0% -2.0%

VOGUE 4.3 $18.0 0.1 $0.5 2.9% 2.7%

ELLE 2.9 $12.5 -0.5 -$2.0 -13.8% -13.9%

HARPER'S BAZAAR 1.6 $6.5 -0.2 -$0.8 -11.1% -11.1%

FASHION (10 Titles) 22.6 $95.3 -1.5 -$6.0 -6.4% -5.9%

WOMENS (61 Titles) 195.0 $615.6 -16.3 -$55.4 -7.7% -8.3%


Category Notes: News



Several noteworthy news events (Osama Bin Laden capture, royal wedding and 9/11 anniversary) enabled a number of titles to post significant gains within the often beleaguered category. Time increased units 225K (+6%) and retail dollars nearly $1.5M (+7.5%). Harvard Business Review posted a 4th consecutive gain, adding 65K units and $1.1M in retail dollars (+20%).

News Units Dollars Unit Var.Dollar

Var.

Unit %

Var.

Dollar %

Var.

TIME 4,093 $20,662 227 $1,447 5.9% 7.5%

LA SEMAINE 2,433 $10,498 (216) -$794 -8.1% -7.0%

NEWSWEEK 1,825 $9,067 (228) -$3,145 -11.1% -25.8%

MACLEAN'S 1,328 $8,303 172 $1,320 14.9% 18.9%

L'ACTUALITE 395 $2,259 145 $773 58.0% 52.0%

FOREIGN AFFAIRS 196 $1,946 (7) -$74 -3.6% -3.6%

NEWS TITLE COUNT = 10 10,492 $53,545 (405) -$2,942 -3.7% -5.2%

ECONOMIST (N.A. EDITION) 2,416 $16,887 (291) -$2,034 -10.8% -10.8%

BARRON'S 1,491 $7,456 (290) -$1,452 -16.3% -16.3%

HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW 390 $6,605 65 $1,103 20.1% 20.1%

BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK 786 $3,920 (172) -$856 -17.9% -17.9%

FORBES 545 $3,339 (18) -$36 -3.2% -1.1%

MONEY 641 $2,619 (23) -$92 -3.5% -3.4%

BUSINESS TITLE COUNT = 16 8,909 $54,774 (853) -$3,892 -8.7% -6.6%

NEWS / FINANCE (26 Titles) 19,402 $108,319 (1,259) -$6,834 -6.1% -5.9%

All numbers in thousands

Category Notes: Mens



MENS: broad and deep losses, with all three sub-

categories suffering double-digit declines in both

units and dollars. Category lost -2.5M unit sales

and $-13M (-13%). Only Men’s Journal was able to

avoid losses, with an +8.7% gain in both units and

dollars.

Mens Units DollarsUnit

Var.

Dollar

Var.

Unit %

Var.

Dollar %

Var.

MEN'S HEALTH 4,097 20,446 -380 -1,894 -8.5% -8.5%

MUSCLE & FITNESS 1,016 7,098 -310 -2,167 -23.4% -23.4%

MEN'S FITNESS 833 4,155 -116 -581 -12.3% -12.3%

FLEX 414 2,894 -86 -601 -17.2% -17.2%

FITNESS TITLES 6,360 34,594 -892 -5,243 -12.3% -13.2%

MAXIM 2,662 15,943 -516 -3,089 -16.2% -16.2%

MEN'S JOURNAL 934 5,593 75 447 8.7% 8.7%

JET 2,592 5,158 -343 -683 -11.7% -11.7%

DETAILS 439 2,191 -60 -275 -12.0% -11.1%

MEN'S GENERAL 19,345 98,072 -2,629 -14,087 -12.0% -12.6%

GQ - GENTLEMEN'S QUARTERLY 2,072 10,338 -351 -1,442 -14.5% -12.2%

ESQUIRE 971 4,843 -142 -601 -12.8% -11.0%

MEN'S FASHION 3,042 15,181 -493 -2,043 -14.0% -11.9%

MEN'S TITLES 17,884 90,751 -2,554 -13,681 -12.5% -13.1%

All numbers in thousands

Category Notes: Teen



Once-thriving celebrity-driven

“Tween” titles now falling

precipitously, losing -2.8M units and

$-11M (-21%). Traditional Teen titles

fared better but still lost -8% units

and -10% dollars. No title posted

gains in either units or dollars.

Category Units Dollars Unit Var.Dollar

Var.

Unit %

Var.

Dollar %

Var.

J-14 2.4 $9.6 -0.5 -$2.1 -17.9% -17.9%

M 2.0 $7.9 -0.4 -$1.8 -18.3% -18.3%

TWIST 1.4 $5.7 -0.2 -$0.8 -12.2% -12.2%

POPSTAR! 0.8 $3.2 -1.2 -$4.8 -60.3% -60.3%

Celebrity Titles 6.6 $26.4 -2.4 -$9.5 -26.4% -26.4%

SEVENTEEN 3.1 $9.3 -0.3 -$0.9 -9.2% -9.2%

TEEN VOGUE 1.3 $3.9 -0.1 -$0.5 -5.2% -12.0%

Teen Titles 4.4 $13.2 -0.4 -$1.5 -8.1% -10.1%

TEEN/CHILDREN 11.4 $41.4 -2.8 -$11.3 -20.0% -21.5%


NOTE: POPSTAR! Did not report numbers for 2H2011

For more information, log into EDGE, CMG’s industry-leading newsstand data portal:

http://billings:8080/businessobjects/enterprise115/desktoplaunch/InfoView/logon/logon.do

You’ll find comprehensive ABC data back to 2001, with views by total volume and average per issue including analysis by:

•Title

•Publisher

•Category

•National Distributor

•Total Circulation

•Long-Term Trends

abc newsstand analysis 2011 h2

Documents