Sales of single-copy magazines dropped about 10 percent in the first half of 2012.
The Audit Bureau of Circulations said Tuesday that overall circulation, including subscriptions, remained at a steady flat rate since this time last year. But single-copy sales, which are more lucrative and therefore more closely watched, continued falling.
The trade group said the single-copies which blanket newsstands totaled 26.4 million copies in the first six months of 2012 — down from nearly 30 million in the same period last year.
The women's interest glossy magazine Cosmopolitan remained the top-seller, but its sales fell nearly 16 percent. Most of the top 25 magazines saw sales sink.
Weight Watchers magazine saw the biggest decline — down almost 28 percent to 325,950 copies sold.
Magazine sales across the board were relatively stagnant. Total circulation, including digital sales on the iPad, were flat at 297.1 million. Paid subscriptions, counting those on the tablet, grew one percent to about 260 million from 257.2 million.
