NEA Task 3 : Research Into The UK Magazine Industry

The following information has been sourced from Pulse Group Media's official website :

Around the world magazine publishing is expected to continue growing by between 1% and 0.5% per year to 2026, according to a recent report. 

Smartphones and tablet devices are contributing to the continued popularity of magazines. With greater availability of high-speed broadband, streaming and downloading online content has become even more popular. Publishers are creating content in digital formats for mobile users to improve customer engagement and reach a wider audience. 

 Increasing use of interactive advertisements in print magazines is also having a positive impact that is contributing to the anticipated growth. 

The following information has been sourced from Press Gazette's official website :

The UK consumer magazine industry has been upended in recent years by factors including the move to online, with the Covid-19 pandemic further hitting newsstand sales and free titles.

Verticals like men’s magazines have been hard hit by competition from visual platforms such as Instagram, while sectors such as news and current affairs have remained more resilient.

Print is still a significant medium for many but has been in long-term decline, with digital editions and subscriptions for the most part not making up for this drop in sales.

Although it is still common to talk of a magazine industry, many of the successful larger players no longer see themselves that way.

Roger Lynch, chief executive of the 113-year-old Conde Nast, told the New York Times this year that the business was “no longer a magazine company” as its audiences now predominantly interact with its brands through its websites and social media rather than its magazines.

The following statistics are sourced from Magnetic Media's official website :

• The very best industry data is sourced from PAMCo, AA/WARC and Nielsen.

• Magazines are projected to have accounted for almost £560.4 million of ad spend in 2022

• Top magazine advertisers include Apple, VictoriaPlum, Johnson & Johnson, Chanel and Sainsbury’s

• Magazine media reaches 76% of adults in the UK each month 

• Almost two thirds of UK adults (63%) read magazines through a digital medium each month and this is growing steadily

• According to PAMCo data 72% of readers think that reading magazines is time well spent and 91% trust what they read*.

last updated January 2023