ABC figures: Which cycling magazines made gains?
The Audit Bureau of Circulation data, released annually to track and verify publisher’s circulation data, has revealed the cycling magazines that have grown and lost audience strength.
Cyclist, Metropolis Publishing (Up)
Road-focused magazine Cyclist was a gainer this year and at a time when it was sold on from founding parent Dennis Publishing to London publishing house Metropolis.
This year’s average circulation per issue sat at 24,952, adding to a marginal growth last year with a small leap up from 21,353.
Of those, subscriptions to the print title tallied 15,682 and 9,270 digitally. This was up marginally on subscriptions and more so on shelf sales with the numbers last year sat at 15,272 and 5,972, respectively.
The title costs £6.30 per issue, or £76 for an annual subscription. The per issue cost last year was £5.99 and the subscription formerly £71.99.
Cyclist Editor Pete Muir told CI.N: “We’re very excited about these figures. To show a 17% increase at a time when the magazine industry is in the doldrums is proof that readers still value quality journalism and professional photography.
“Of course, more and more people want the instant hit that social media provides, but they also want to sit down, slow down and read something that has been properly researched, intelligently written and beautifully illustrated.
“Whether it’s on a tablet or in good, old-fashioned paper form, magazines still matter to people.”
The publisher’s newer electric bike focused title Cycling Electric is thus far yet to be audited.
Cycling Plus, Immediate Media (Down)
Immediate Media’s Cycling Plus delivered a 25,647 magazine circulation average upon issuing its data during February. Last year Cycling Plus achieved a per issue average circulation of 28,925, so the title has decreased the reach of its printed product year-on-year.
Cycling Plus remains with a 13 issue annual output, of which 16,539 are paid subscribers and 9,108 per issue are bought on the newsstand. This compares with 19,564 paid subscriptions and 9,388 off the shelf single copy sales last year, indicating that is subscriber loss to blame for the reversal. The cover price remains £5.99 and subscription rate flat.
Mountain Biking UK, Immediate Media (Up)
Added subscribers to Mountain Biking UK meant a little growth for the only audited MTB title, up to 16,340 from 14,505 last year. Meanwhile, a small gain on paid for copies saw the title up marginally to 6,982 from 6,960 last year.
A per issue cost of £5.99 puts the title in line with the rest of the market, as does its £77.87 annual UK subscription fee.
The voluntary subscriptions verification means that increasingly few publishers submit their data and so metrics from just a handful are now represented. Furthermore, it should be noted that consolidation in the publishing space has meant the closure of certain titles who used to be present in the metrics.
Last year’s metrics can be found here. For historic reference on the trends attributed to cycling magazines prior data from 2018 and 2017 can be found here.
