More than half of U.S. magazine readers now access content in digital form; number of consumers using mobile devices to read content up 6.2% from AMS' Spring data, to 35 million

Kendall Sinclair

Kendall Sinclair

NEW YORK , November 21, 2011 (press release) – The Fall 2011 wave of Affinity’s American Magazine Study reports that almost 187 million American adults are now reading magazines in print or digital form, an increase of more than 2.1 million new magazine readers versus the AMS Spring release. The American Magazine Study, which surveys 60,000 consumers annually to report the total audience delivery of the country’s leading magazine brands across print, Web, social and mobile platforms, reveals that the biggest audience gains were from digital users visiting magazine-branded social networks - up 5.7% to 30 million consumers, and Americans accessing magazine-branded content and advertising through smartphones, eReaders, tablets and other mobile devices – up 6.2% to 35 million consumers.

Among the total universe of magazine readers, 95% read the traditional printed versions of magazines, while more than half (54%) are accessing magazine content and advertising in digital form. Taking into account audience duplication across platforms, this equates to 48% of all magazine readers who are now interacting with their favorite magazine brands through both print and digital platforms. Of the 172 magazine brands reported by AMS, the average number of different magazines read, across print and digital channels, is 8.2 per month.

Different Platforms – Different Reader Profiles

The AMS study previously reported that the demographic profile of print readers differs from readers of digital magazine content, and this trend continues with the Fall release. Digital users tend to be younger, skew more male, be better educated and report higher household incomes than their print-reading counterparts.

The Digital Reader

The digital magazine channels that publishers are now leveraging to extend the reach of their brands are resonating with consumers, who are taking advantage of the interactivity that these platforms offer. Among digital readers, 52% tap or click on links that provide more information about a particular topic, 38% have watched a magazine-sponsored video, and almost four out of ten (36%) tap or click on links that provide more information about an advertised product.

Among those readers who are not accessing magazines in digital form, more than half (54%) report that they “just prefer reading the printed versions of magazines”, while 18% report that they will probably read or view magazine content digitally at some point in the future.

Keeping Pace With Change

To track the rapid evolution of today’s magazine marketplace and the changing dynamics of print and digital readership, Affinity recently announced that it will report AMS audience estimates on a quarterly basis beginning with the Spring 2012 release of the study. For detailed audience estimates for the magazine brands measured by AMS, please visit www.AffinityResearch.net.


About Affinity’s American Magazine Study AMS employs a contemporary, Web-based methodology to survey more than 60,000 consumers annually. AMS is the industry’s premier source for total magazine brand readership across print and digital channels, including magazine Websites, social networks, electronic subscriptions and the growing number of apps designed for smartphones, eReaders, tablet PCs and other mobile devices. (Using a state-of- the-art calibration process, Web audience estimates provided by comScore, Inc. have been integrated into Affinity’s American Magazine Study.)

About Affinity LLC Affinity is a media research firm specializing in magazine audience measurement and accountability tracking. Affinity’s products include ProofReader (campaign pre-testing), The American Magazine Study (print and digital magazine audience measurement), and the VISTA Service (in-market effectiveness of print and digital magazine ads). Company Web site: www.AffinityResearch.net.

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