Magazine ABCs July-Dec 2006: TV listings titles

by Noel Bussey, Campaign 23-Feb-07

Overall sales for the TV listings market could be best described as static. Sales increased by just 0.8 per cent year on year, and 0.7 per cent period on period. It has been this way for the past few years, and will probably remain so in the near future.

But that said, there is still evidence that there is plenty of activity
in the category's sub-sectors, and this is giving rise to plenty of
churn, as well as maintaining competition.

Liz Watkinson, the group publisher of H Bauer's TV titles, believes the

category can be split into three: "These are premium, mid and budget,

and rivalry within them is more intense than ever."

She's not wrong. Especially when it comes to the two titles at the top
of the table, What's on TV and TV Choice.

The big story is that TV Choice is closing the gap on its rival by
putting on double-digit growth, while the IPC title dropped by 4.3 per
cent.

However, Philippa Brown, the managing director at IPC tx, puts this down
to Bauer's strategy of price cutting (at 35p, TV Choice is seven pence
cheaper than What's on TV), and challenges her rival publisher to meet
them on equal terms. She says: "Bauer says that the sales figures are
nothing to do with the cover price, but if they're not, why don't they
put their prices up? I'm sure they wouldn't turn down an extra seven
pence a copy. We have Dunnhumby research showing the older readership
have no brand loyalty; they switch because of price, so Bauer is
devaluing the market."

Watkinson retorts by saying: "That would be fun, but it's not going to
happen any time soon. We're happy where we are. We moved the price up by
two pence at Christmas and we're still growing. Its not just
price-related, our numbers show value for money is working for the
audience."

In the premium sector, the Radio Times still leads the way and continues
to be profitable, with a sales value of more than £1 million a
week, while IPC's TV Times continues to struggle.

However, Brown sends out another warning to the industry, by promising
to bring this title in line with the rest of the market. IPC has slowed
its sales decline compared to the last few years.

The real growth in the premium sector has come from the satellite
category, which saw IPC's TV & Satellite Week maintain an even keel,
while Bauer's Total TV Guide continued to gain ground on its competitor
with a 19 per cent year-on-year growth.

Watkinson puts this down to the proliferation of Freeview towards the
end of last year. She says: "It grew exponentially, leading to more
people needing comprehensive viewing schedules you can't get anywhere
else."

But the real surprise has been the soap category. With two of the
titles, All About Soap and Soaplife, putting on double-digit growth, the
market, which many thought had had its day, has exploded again. Brown
says: "The overall sector is up 8.1 per cent.The appetite for soaps is
as big as ever and is helping bring younger readers into the market.
Plus, they are well-priced magazines, so they're building revenue."

Verdict With no launches and minimal price cutting, the market seems to
have remained static. But the growth of TV Easy, the soap sector and TV
Choice shows there is some movement. It also shows new readers are
entering the market, especially younger ones, who have historically been
difficult to draw into the sector.

TV LISTINGS

TITLE PUBLISHER Total ABC Period-on- Year-on-

period year

% change % change

What's on TV IPC 1,437,650 -4.8 -4.3

TV Choice H Bauer 1,353,436 5.1 11.6

Radio Times BBC Magazines 1,082,338 1.1 -1.1

TV Times IPC 377,473 1.3 -7.5

TV Easy IPC 293,325 -2.7 3.1

TV Quick H Bauer 246,181 -6.1 -13.8

TV & Satellite

Week IPC 207,327 -2.1 0.1

Inside Soap Hachette Filipacchi 189,183 3.1 3.4

Total TV Guide H Bauer 109,501 8.1 19.0

Soaplife IPC 97,540 5.4 15.7

All About Soap Hachette Filipacchi 78,061 4.3 11.3

Source: Audit Bureau of Circulations, July-December 2006.