BPA Audit Shows More Circ Declines in First Half

More than 60 percent report flat or declining numbers overall.

By Jason Fell
08/12/2008

Nearly two-thirds of consumer magazines that reported first half 2008 circulation figures with BPA Worldwide posted flat or lower circulation during the period, according to the audit group's biannual report released yesterday.

Mature Living Choices (-29.5 percent), Cell (-18.5), California Lawyer (-15.6), American Snowmobiler (-14.9) and Sacramento (-14.7) were the largest decliners.

Several titles also posted double-digit losses on the newsstand over the first half, including Florida Trend (-56.6 percent), National Fisherman (-51.1) and Restaurant Startup and Growth (-50.2). The positive standouts are Hispanic Business and Relish, which posted gains of 160.8 percent and 31.9 percent, respectively.

During the first half, Meredith's Ser Padres magazine saw overall circulation rise 41.2 percent—the largest increase of any of the 101 consumer magazines tracked by BPA.

The American Journalism Review (39.8 percent), newspaper magazine Relish (31.9), WWE (26.9) and the Weekly Standard (18.1) were some of the other biggest overall BPA-audited circ gainers during the period.

Last month Relish, which is published monthly by the Publishers Group of America, told FOLIO: that it was increasing its circ from 12 million to 15 million effective with its January 2009 issue. Relish launched in February 2006 and has increased circulation by three million each year.

The Audit Bureau of Circulation also released its first half circulation figures yesterday.