Celebrity magazine titles continue to swoon.
With rare exceptions, the decline in single-copy sales of the celebrity titles eclipsed the industry’s average 7.2 percent in the six months that ended Dec. 31, according to the Alliance for Audited Media.
Total circulation, including subscribers and free distribution, held almost steady overall, dropping less than 1 percent.
Jann Wenner’s Us Weekly, which in its heyday sold 1 million single issue copies, reported 312,089 newsstand copies sold in the period, down 18 percent, the largest decline in the sector.
Time Inc.’s most profitable title, People, which in its heyday averaged 1.4 million copies on newsstands, posted a 9.5 percent decline in single copy sales in the period, to 650,545.
American Media Inc.’s Star Magazine posted a 2 percent drop in single copy sales, to 207,138. Its sister title, OK!, bucked the trend and reported a 3.5 percent gain in single-issue copies, to 121,999.
At Bauer Publications, Life & Style reported a 10.5 percent drop in single copy sales, to 199,786, while In Touch sank 14.2 percent on newsstands to 357,515.
Both failed to make their promised rate base.