Annual Report 2001/02

Magazines

We are selling an amazing 100 million magazines every year

In a profitable and exciting year, BBC Magazines consolidated its position as the UK’s third largest consumer magazines publisher, and its 31 titles continue to be the gold standard in most categories.

Figures from the National Readership Survey (NRS) – the industry measure-ment of readership – for January to December 2001 show that 16% of UK adults and 21% of ABC1 UK adults read a BBC magazine. Despite declining advertising revenues across the industry, BBC Worldwide’s magazines business outperformed its larger competitors, with sales growing 2% year-on-year.

Our top priorities are editorial excellence – reflecting the qualities associated with the BBC brand – and a keen understanding of our readers.

We increased our focus on sales and marketing this year, creating a ‘key customer group’ to drive opportunities for advertisers across the magazines business’s range of titles, working closely with the individual teams within each genre and at Radio Times.

Altogether, our children’s magazines increased circulation within the pre-school market by 14% year-on-year (Audit Bureau of Circulations – ending December 2001) and we publish the top seven best-selling pre-school titles in the market.

Radio Times, the BBC’s first commercial venture, launched in 1923, continues to be the most profitable magazine in the UK.

Top Gear magazine, re-designed during the year, remains the UK’s best-selling general motoring monthly. Gardeners' World reaches more ABC1s and ABs than any other gardening title. With 1.7 million readers, it has a higher readership than all its competitors combined (NRS January to December 2001).

BBC Good Food, whose editor Orlando Murrin also took on chairmanship of the British Society of Magazine Editors, saw readership increase by 41% year-on-year (NRS July to December 2001). It was a strong 10th anniversary year for BBC Music magazine, with increased readership of a third year-on-year (NRS January to December 2001), a refreshed format and additional investment.

Research shows that our vibrant women’s glossy, eve, is succeeding in tempting women back to the sector or attracting them for the first time. Almost 50% of eve readers are aged 25-44, and over a quarter fall into the affluent AB social grade (NRS January to December 2001).

In the competitive teen market, Top of the Pops magazine is the UK’s best-selling music title, and it has also been launched in Germany to tie in with the locally-produced version of the successful television show, filmed weekly in Cologne.

During the year, star: the celebrity magazine was closed but we injected new life into our youth titles with the launch of It’s HOT! – a monthly entertainment title for younger teenagers – which replaced L&K magazine.

There were strong performances in other areas: BBC Magazines’ joint venture with Haymarket continues to produce some of Britain’s biggest events. This year’s BBC Good Food Show and BBC Gardeners’ World Live saw record visitors. Galleon, our wholly-owned subscriptions and database management bureau, attracted new clients including Hello! magazine and Private Eye.

Looking to the future, as BBC Worldwide continues to build international presence – through TV channels, BBC-branded blocks and programming – BBC Magazines is seeking opportunities to develop BBC and programme-related magazines around the world.