More sustained growth for magazine publishing industry, according to Magazine Media 360°
The Association of Magazine Media (MPA) released its latest Magazine Media 360° report – tabbing year-over-year numbers for February, along with the top performers in the magazine publishing industry – last week.
The Audience Report recorded a 12.6% year-over-year increase in site visits – the largest jump since the MPA has started issuing the Magazine Media 360° report – while putting gross traffic for digital magazines at 1.7 billion, up from 1.5 billion in February of 2015.
Video and mobile continue to propel the magazine publishing industry, rising 18.7% and 78%, respectively, year over year. Meanwhile, perhaps the most noteworthy metric movement can be found in desktop/laptop audience, which had remained flat for six straight months. In February, visits increased 6.9% year over year.
“As we move further into our first full year of data, the continuing increases provide compelling evidence of the strength of consumer demand for magazine media. Moreover, the demonstration of sustainable month-over-month audience growth is a clear indicator of the current value and future promise for the industry. And while it is premature to make a judgement as to whether digital audiences on desktop/laptop and mobile platforms will continue to climb at current rates, it is worth noting that audience increases were experienced by many different publishing companies and titles of varying audience sizes,” MPA President and CEO Mary G. Berner said in a statement.
[text_ad]
“It is exactly because of its ability to reveal the cross-platform performance of the industry that the Magazine Media 360° Brand Audience Report has been effectively changing the conversation around magazine media and its vitality since its launch in September – especially in the advertising community.”
Magazine Media 360° measures multiplatform publishing data from 145 magazine brands from over 30 companies, representing 95% of overall readers.
The MPA cites sources including GfK MRI’s Survey of the American Consumer and TeenMark; comScore’s Media Metrix, Mobile Media Metrix, and Video Metrix; and Nielsen’s NetView, Mobile NetView, and VideoCensus.
Here’s how Magazine Media 360° defines the measurements:
Print+Digital: The unduplicated estimate of average issue readers, in thousands
Desktop/Laptop: The number of uniques, in thousands, that have visited a website on a desktop or laptop at least once in the specified reporting period
Mobile: The number of uniques, in thousands, that have visited a website via mobile device – including iOS and Android – at least one time during the reporting period
Video: Unique viewers, in thousands, who watched a video at least once during the reporting period via a player owned/operated by the publisher – regardless of where that video was viewed – and/or, if reported, through a separate, clearly branded channel.
Top 10 Magazine Brands, February 2015
Overall (Monthly Audience)
1. ESPN the Magazine (92,755)
2. People (84,955)
3. Better Homes and Gardens (49,137)
4. Forbes (45,683)
5. TIME (44,818)
6. AARP The Magazine (44,361)
7. AllRecipes (41,816)
8. Sports Illustrated (40,710)
9. AARP Bulletin (39,058)
10. National Geographic (38,748)
In terms of categories, the top overall performers broke down like this:
Print+Digital: People
Desktop/Laptop: ESPN the Magazine
Mobile: ESPN the Magazine
Video: ESPN the Magazine
Growth (Y-o-Y)
1. Wired (206%)
2. Playboy (66%)
3. HGTV Magazine (63%)
4. OK! Magazine (60%)
5. Bon Appétit/Epicurious (52%)
6. The Atlantic (48%)
7. Essence (47%)
8. Forbes (40%)
9. Brides (38%)
10. People StyleWatch (36%)
In terms of categories, the top growth performers broke down like this:
Print+Digital: AllRecipes
Desktop/Laptop: Life & Style
Mobile: Town & Country
Video: AllRecipes
What are your thoughts on the MPA’s latest magazine publishing industry report? What do you make of the spike in desktop/laptop visitors? Let us know in the comments, and check out our own free Digital Magazine Market Study!
To read more about its latest magazine publishing industry report, visit the MPA.
