Teen mags’ ABCs set for a decline

Teenage magazines are expected to show significant declines in the next Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) results.

According to press buyers, the continuing rise in the circulation figures of celebrity-driven magazines such as EMAP’s Heat has hit the teenage market.

It is expected that Attic Futura’s Sugar – which has one of the largest circulations in the sector with 422,179 (July to December 2000) – and the BBC’s music title for teenagers, Top of the Pops magazine, will show a decline this period.

Top of the Pops magazine was down 21.6 per cent period on period and down 17.2 per cent year on year in the last ABCs (July to December 2000) Sugar was slightly down – 1.9 per cent – year on year in the same period.

EMAP’s J-17 showed a decline of 13 per cent year on year and Looks posted a decline of 3.7 per cent compared with the six-month period in the previous year.

Press buyers add that the women’s weekly market, like the men’s magazines sector, is expected to be flat this period.

But EMAP expects its men’s title Arena to be up by about 35 per cent compared with the previous period. In the last ABCs, the magazine reported a decline of 21.3 per cent, both period on period and year on year, to a circulation of 37,080.

According to EMAP, these ABCs will show that Arena has reached a circulation of over 50,000.