Mags and papers see declines all round in audit figures for Q1 2014
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The figures are in, and it’s not looking pretty for print media.
The latest Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) figures of the first 2014 quarter show falling sales across the board in both newspapers and magazines.
Lad’s mag Zoo fell the hardest of the weekly magazines while print newspaper titles continued to slip, with slow pick-ups in digital subscriptions.
The ailing paper trail
Of the daily Fairfax papers, The Age recorded the biggest losses, despite its move to a compact size in 2013. It fell by 17.9%, a 25,000 drop in circulation since this time last year.
The results were much the same for the Sydney Morning Herald, down 14.5 %, while the Australian Financial Review had a 6.4% decline.
The figures weren’t much better over at News Corp, where the daily edition of The Australian fell by 6.7%, and the Herald Sun by 10.1%.
Even the legendary headlines of the NT News couldn’t save its circulation, it’s daily paper down by 11.6%.
Weekend editions across Fairfax and News Corp weren’t spared either. The weekend Australian Financial Review posted an 18,000 loss in circulation while the Sunday Herald Sun fell by 51,000.
Digital and paywall figures
Digital trends are still tricky to chart accurately, with relatively few year-on-year figures to compare, though there was some positive growth noted for this quarter.
The Age and Sydney Morning Herald recorded modest increases in digital subscriptions - the weekday subscriptions rising 0.1% and 5.3% respectively, while the Herald Sun‘s daily digital subscription saw an uplift of 24.6%.
Supermarket titles still not checking out
Weekly supermarket titles continue to suffer with celebrity rags OK!, NW and Famous falling by 16% and upwards.
The lifespan of Zoo magazine hangs in the balance, shifting from a circulation of 50,000 last year to 31,000 this quarter, a massive 36.4% decline.