Muscle & Fitness is around 400K
Flex is aournd 120K
MuscleMag is around 60K
Ironman and MD are around 20K
Those are just North American. Muscle & Fitness and Flex have major numbers worldwide. The others don't. Ron has posted the numbers before, as he works in the supp industry, where the numbers are well-known because they determine ad rates. Weider Pubs have actually increased market share (and ad rates).
Interesting debate that I’ve kicked off here…The facts at hand are that Flex is down and there is 3rd party data that backs up this statement.
Undermind, where is your source for the numbers that you posted above? What references do you have for your statements on all of these magazines and their circulation?
Without a credible reference you are doing nothing more than blowing smoke and giving YOUR opinion.From what I hear in the industry, MD is the most popular and fastest growing publication in the bodybuilding category, especially since their recent chain-wide distribution into Walmart, Albertson’s, and Walgreens.
It’s true that the other magazines are not audited, however
it cannot be disputed that Flex’s circulation is down by nearly 1/3rd over the last 3 years. As a reminder from a previous post on a similar topic, once again I give you Flex magazine’s second half of 2005 numbers direct from ABC and min. 1st quarter 2006 numbers are not available yet.
March 6, 2006
Media Industry Newsletter (min)
Vol. 59 No. 10
Second Half 2005 Magazine Analysis
Flex Rate Base/Circ Guarantee
None claimed
Single Copies (%) (Newsstand Sales)
70,529 (-7.3%)
This is not a sign of poor customer service, producing a withering product editorially is most likely the culprit for the decline in sales here.
Subscriptions (%)
41,111 (-13.4%)
This decline looks to be right on par with your customer service woes.
Total (%)
111,640 (-9.6%)
Ouch!!!
