Australians seem to have taken to reading magazines in a big way while lockdown and travel restrictions kept them confined indoors. The overall picture though is that of mixed results. For instance, according to a Roy Morgan Single Source survey, there has been a 2.2 percent decline in the print magazine readership in Australia in a year up to June 2021.
However, many of the magazine titles reported they have witnessed a significant increase in readership, which means they have been able to connect with new readers even though several titles failed to survive the lockdown imposed to clamp down on new Covid infections. Also, another aspect that too is hard to ignore is that the increase in readership has been across several segments instead of being confined to any particular reading segment.
For instance, there has been a remarkable increase in print magazines related to Food and Entertainment. It accounted for a jump of more than 7.1 million which sums up to a 10.8 percent increase compared to the same period a year ago. Similarly, magazines in the General Interest category increased 6.1 percent to more than 4.1 million.
Other segments such as Home and Garden perhaps witnessed the biggest jump in readership, to 17.8 percent to account for more than 3.8 million readerships. Mass Women’s is another segment that witnessed a jump of 3.8 percent to more than 3 million readerships. These apart, other segments that too witnessed a sizeable jump in readership include sports, music and movies, motorcycles, TV, and motoring.
Among the magazines that ended up being the top choice of the Australians include Better Homes & Gardens that saw a 3.5 percent jump in readership to more than 1.6 million readerships. Women’s Weekly came in at the second spot with over 1.4 million readerships which marks an increase of 18.7 percent.
National Geographic came in at third with a little less than a million readership, or 9,69,000 to be precise. Making up the fourth slot is Woman’s Day with a readership of 7,52,000.
Coming to free magazines, it is Coles Magazine that emerged as the top choice of the Australians with a readership of 5,061,000, which makes for an increase of 11.6 percent. Fresh Ideas made up the second slot with a readership of 4,597,000, which makes for an increase of 15.1 percent. Bunnings Magazine that deals with home improvement is another one that went for a rather huge 40.3 percent jump in readership to 1,629,000.
Interestingly, two other magazines among the top 15 that registered the largest increase in readership deal with home improvement and gardening. House & Garden saw its readership increase by a massive 59.2 percent, to 6,40,000 while Gardening Australia registered a 48.1 percent jump to 5,39,000 readership during the period.
Among the other magazines that emerged as the crowd favorites include Road Ahead in Queensland, Take 5 Bumper Monthly, and That’s Life Mega Monthly.
Segment-wise, it is the Food & Entertainment category that ended up having the largest readership, at 7,133,000, which again is an increase of 10.8 percent. A total of 33.8 percent of the Australian population showed interest in the Food & Entertainment category of magazines.
Similarly, 19.5 percent of the population or 4,123,000 Australians preferred magazines in the General Interest category. However, it is the Home & Garden segment that showed the single biggest jump in readership, up by 17.8 percent which accounts for 3,877,000 readerships.
Mass Women’s magazines is another category that registered impressive gains, with readership going up by 3.8 percent. A total of 3,066,000 Australians went for such magazines which makes for 14.5 percent of the population.
Magazines related to Motoring, Sports, and TVs also registered gains in readership. Specifically, the motoring segment witnessed a growth of 16.6 percent magazines related to TV gained an even higher 28.5 percent growth in readership. However, it is the Sports magazines that registered the largest jump in readership, by a massive 134.6 percent compared to what it was a year ago.
So far so good but magazines related to Business, Financial, and Airline magazines are the ones that registered negative growth. The segment declined 4.7 percent with a 1,105,000 readership, which makes for 5.2 percent of the population. That said, Money Magazine still managed to grow by an impressive 134.6 percent and catered to 2,44,000 Australians. Qantas Magazine is another one in the segment to register a 41.2 percent jump in readership, with a readership of 3,67,000.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.