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Fighting for quality news media in the digital age.

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  2. Audience Data
August 15, 2014updated 19 Aug 2014 1:25pm

The Economist has top-selling UK digital mag edition + full half-year UK print and digital mag sales round-up

By Dominic Ponsford

The Economist is the UK magazine title with the most digital edition sales, according to figures for the first half of 2014 released by ABC.

The current affairs title has a paid-for print circulation of 139,629 in the UK and adds a further 21,780 a week thanks to sales of the digital facsmile of the magazine.

Just under half of the 214 magazine titles audited by ABC in the first half of this year offer digital editions. These are digital replicas of the print magazine, rather than apps or websites.

As a whole, digital edition sales remain tiny compared with print.

While the Economist tops the digital edition table provided by ABC, The Week is seperately audited has a "digital publication". It has digital publication sales of 26,283 according to ABC, versus total print circulation of 199,459.

The 94 titles offering digital editions audited by ABC in the first half of this year had combined print  sales of 13.1m compared with digital edition sales of 337,795 (2.5 per cent of the combined total).

But for the titles which have embraced digital editions they represent a significant proportion of total sales.

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Total Film sells some 14,091 digital editions a month, versus 45,288 print, and Wired sells 8,136, compared with 37,284 in print.

Gay lifestyle magazine Attitude outsold much bigger rivals such as GQ, Esquire and Men’s Health in terms of digital editions with average circulation of 13,373 a month.

Chief executive of magazine industry trade body the PPA Barry McIlheney pointed out that digital editions are only part of the digital story for magazines.

 “The growth of digital editions is encouraging for the sector, and it should also be remembered that this ABC report does not include the increasing number of other ways – websites, live events, social media, etc. – in which the magazine brands of today engage directly with their consumers.

“The growing demand for digital content continues to place pressure on print magazines in some markets, but there are also a number of highlights in this report that demonstrate the continued robustness of print for certain brands, in certain markets, and among certain demographics.

“Overall, this ABC report shows how today’s modern magazine brands are continuing to extend their cross-platform audience reach and grow their influence as a key platform for advertisers.

“This growing reach and influence of magazine media is something that will be further demonstrated and promoted by the new consumer magazine media marketing agency, to be launched in the final quarter of this year. Further information on this will be provided in the coming weeks."

UK magazines ranked by digital edition sales in the first half of 2014 (source ABC)



  Title Digital edition Print paid-for
1 The Economist –  United Kingdom Edition 21,780 139,629
2 Total Film 14,091 45,228
3 BBC Top Gear Magazine 13,553 112,528
4 Attitude 13,373 N/A
5 Empire 13,073 134,527
6 Slimming World Magazine 11,621 465,120
7 GQ 11,361 92,632
8 BBC History Magazine 11,286 78,626
9 BBC Good Food 10,989 224,510
10 Men's Health 10,360 171,388
11 Wired 8,136 37,284
12 Vanity Fair 8,075 70,546
13 Vogue 7,950 176,780
14 OK! Magazine 7,408 257,170
15 HELLO! 6,596 259,139
16 Cosmopolitan 6,551 257,286
17 Women's Health 5,951 104,017
18 Elle Decoration 5,883 60,790
19 New Scientist – US/Canadian Sales 5,851 17,464
20 Esquire 5,679 34,117
21 New Scientist – Worldwide Sales   Excluding Australasia and US/Canada 5,675 77,324
22 New! 4,982 322,704
23 Elle (U.K.) 4,862 135,335
24 Glamour 4,656 387,032
25 Grazia 3,961 144,438
26 Grand Designs 3,823 23,479
27 Red 3,665 179,460
28 Living etc 3,653 92,157
29 FHM 3,398 62,626
30 Good Housekeeping 3,361 398,107
31 The Economist –  Middle East/Africa Edition 3,353 15,204
32 Woman and Home 3,322 335,448
33 Four Four Two 3,176 73,130
34 Harpers Bazaar 3,162 66,441
35 Inside Soap 2,956 133,228
36 Lonely Planet Traveller 2,815 40,853
37 Jamie Magazine 2,746 34,214
38 Look 2,613 156,477
39 Health and Fitness 2,560 19,203
40 Psychologies Magazine 2,553 66,989
41 Country Living 2,503 176,282
42 New Scientist – Australasian Sales 2,481 19,642
43 Q 2,257 45,515
44 Golf Monthly 2,141 43,997
45 BBC Gardeners' World 2,133 216,300
46 Olive 2,095 44,386
47 Marie Claire 2,080 177,856
48 Zoo 2,046 27,930
49 Now 1,919 179,249
50 House and Garden 1,913 87,328
51 Homes and Gardens 1,834 91,791
52 What's on TV 1,816 1,035,779
53 Ideal Home 1,816 187,924
54 Tatler 1,780 51,922
55 Instyle UK 1,743 110,288
56 Country Homes and Interiors 1,681 91,054
57 Women's Fitness 1,565 17,842
58 Uncut 1,540 50,005
59 New Musical Express 1,518 14,279
60 Reveal 1,510 165,508
61 Conde Nast Traveller 1,498 36,108
62 Octane 1,477 32,379
63 Gardens Illustrated 1,438 35,395
64 World Of Interiors 1,436 45,468
65 Doctor Who Magazine 1,377 32,068
66 Star 1,351 210,801
67 Closer 1,280 311,375
68 Chat 1,242 307,276
69 Heat 1,213 211,233
70 Style at Home 1,184 106,406
71 Land Rover Monthly 1,063 20,017
72 25 Beautiful Homes 1,027 96,565
73 House Beautiful 1,010 108,134
74 BBC Easy Cook 990 36,222
75 Woman 952 253,987
76 Your Home 897 119,226
77 TV and Satellite Week 889 148,873
78 Prima Baby 794 17,429
79 All About Soap 759 55,787
80 Woman's Own 755 223,718
81 Prima 704 263,116
82 Essentials 692 108,380
83 Saga Magazine 671 450,973
84 Pick Me Up 596 162,920
85 Good to Know Recipes 565 21,946
86 Gurgle Magazine 453 15,042
87 Woman's Weekly 394 305,585
88 Soaplife 356 61,380
89 Real People 299 169,775
90 TV Times 291 227,931
91 TV Easy 272 108,699
92 Best 245 201,300
93 Peoples Friend 221 229,544
94 Amateur Gardening 174 34,594
  Total 337,795 13,107,159

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