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The magazine industry may be experiencing a turnaround in advertising in 2010, but the people loitering at the newsstand have been slow to follow.
Consumer magazine circulation fell 2.3 percent during the first half, according the Audit Bureau of Circulations’ Fas-Fax, a semi-annual box score. Single copy sales – i.e. newsstand – slid 5.6 percent.
Paid subscriptions – which make up the bulk of the industry’s circulation revenue — fell about 2 percent.
Cosmopolitan was the top-selling magazine at the newsstand, selling an average of 1,641,805 copies per issue. Oprah, the ninth best-selling U.S. magazine, saw single copy sales fall nearly 16 percent, though its overall circulation actually increased.
Vogue’s newsstand sales fell 14.7 percent during the first half, pushing it out of the top 25.
Below, the top 25 selling U.S. magazines at the newsstand, and their corresponding percentage increase of decrease in average copies sold. Below that, the top 25 in terms of overall circulation per issue.
Top 25 Newsstand Magazines
1. Cosmopolitan 1,641,805 | 1.5
2. People 1,289,467 | (2.3)
3. Woman’s World 1,256,519 | 6.9
4. First 1,066,725 | 0.1
5. Us Weekly 778,043 | (7.8)
6. In Touch 770,088 | 3.4
7. Family Circle 627,209 | (6.8)
8. In Style 621,526 | (0.6)
9. O, The Oprah Magazine 583,457 | (15.8)
10. People Stylewatch 572,104 | 15.0
11. Glamour 550,026 | (6.7)
12. National Enquirer 542,154 | (8.3)
13. Star 530,615 | (11.7)
14. Men’s Health 496,136 | (1.5)
15. Life & Style 430,625 | (10.1)
16. Weight Watchers 409,677 | 2.6
17. All You 408,413 | 3.6
18. Good Housekeeping 385,669 | (17.7)
19. Real Simple 377,032 | (4.2)
20. Woman’s Day 376,235 | (8.3)
21. Women’s Health 367,725 | 10.3
22. OK! 360,180 | (9.6)
23. Vanity Fair 344,084 | 2.8
24. Seventeen 339,743 | 5.8
25. Food Network Magazine 323,586 | N/A
Top 25 Circulation Magazines
1. AARP The Magazine 23,721,626 | (3.4)
2. AARP Bulletin 23,574,328 | (3.0)
3. Better Homes And Gardens 7,644,011 | 0.1
4. Reader’s Digest 6,112,811 | (25.1)
5. National Geographic 4,493,110 | (4.6)
6. Good Housekeeping 4,427,964 | (4.4)
7. Game Informer 4,364,170 | 21.2
8. Woman’s Day 3,919,488 | (0.4)
9. Family Circle 3,849,673 | (2.1)
10. Ladies’ Home Journal 3,831,072 | (0.3)
11. People 3,553,420 | (1.7)
12. Time 3,312,484 | (1.8)
13. Taste of Home 3,257,200 | (1.4)
14. Sports Illustrated 3,212,278 | (1.2)
15. Cosmopolitan 3,046,229 | 4.8
16. Prevention 2,927,638 | (11.6)
17. Southern Living 2,841,894 | 0.1
18. AAA Via 2,740,176 | (1.6)
19. Maxim 2,549,893 | 0.5
20. Remedy/Remedy MD 2,515,433 | 15.5
21. AAA Living 2,460,455 | 0.1
22. O, The Oprah Magazine 2,415,336 | 0.7
23. American Legion Magazine 2,346,264 | 2.3
24. Glamour 2,320,325 | (2.9)
25. Parenting 2,229,253 | 2.0
SOURCE: ABC Fas-Fax
