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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/aug/11/top-gear-magazine-sales-chris-evans-bbc-worldwide-radio-times
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| Top Gear magazine's sales hit skids during Chris Evans era | Top Gear magazine's sales hit skids during Chris Evans era |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Top Gear magazine saw a large drop in UK sales during the six months in which the revamped show starring Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc was on screens. | Top Gear magazine saw a large drop in UK sales during the six months in which the revamped show starring Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc was on screens. |
| The magazine, which is run by Immediate Media but owned by BBC commercial arm BBC Worldwide, saw sales in the UK and Ireland drop below 100,000 for the first six months of the year, falling to 89,506, down 15% compared with the previous six months. | The magazine, which is run by Immediate Media but owned by BBC commercial arm BBC Worldwide, saw sales in the UK and Ireland drop below 100,000 for the first six months of the year, falling to 89,506, down 15% compared with the previous six months. |
| Total international sales remained above 103,000, though there was still an almost 14% fall in circulation, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulation figures published on Thursday. | Total international sales remained above 103,000, though there was still an almost 14% fall in circulation, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulation figures published on Thursday. |
| Related: Top Gear's Matt LeBlanc: I'm keen to return to show | Related: Top Gear's Matt LeBlanc: I'm keen to return to show |
| The period coincided with a disappointing performance for the new series without Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. The show began with an audience of more than 4 million overnight, but fell to less than 2 million. It also lost a third of its audience on iPlayer during the run. Evans quit the show shortly after the series ended, saying he had given it his “best shot”. | The period coincided with a disappointing performance for the new series without Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. The show began with an audience of more than 4 million overnight, but fell to less than 2 million. It also lost a third of its audience on iPlayer during the run. Evans quit the show shortly after the series ended, saying he had given it his “best shot”. |
| The magazine’s publishing director Simon Carrington said the magazine continued to dominate the motoring market. | The magazine’s publishing director Simon Carrington said the magazine continued to dominate the motoring market. |
| He added: “In print we’ve cemented our position as the world’s premier motoring title by adding four new partners to our growing list of international publishing partners this year whilst a brand new website has enabled our audience to engage with our content across multiple digital platforms.” | He added: “In print we’ve cemented our position as the world’s premier motoring title by adding four new partners to our growing list of international publishing partners this year whilst a brand new website has enabled our audience to engage with our content across multiple digital platforms.” |
| Immediate Media’s biggest earner, the Radio Times, also took a big hit, with circulation falling almost 9% to 668,526 compared to the previous six months. On a year-on-year basis, which doesn’t include the traditional Christmas bump for the magazine, circulation was down 6.2%. | Immediate Media’s biggest earner, the Radio Times, also took a big hit, with circulation falling almost 9% to 668,526 compared to the previous six months. On a year-on-year basis, which doesn’t include the traditional Christmas bump for the magazine, circulation was down 6.2%. |
| However, Immediate said the title had outperformed the rest of the premium market, and pointed to a 5.1% rise in subscribers, accounting for more than 40% of its circulation and making it the UK’s largest subscription title. | However, Immediate said the title had outperformed the rest of the premium market, and pointed to a 5.1% rise in subscribers, accounting for more than 40% of its circulation and making it the UK’s largest subscription title. |
| Meanwhile the women’s market continued to see falls almost across the board. OK! magazine saw a sharp fall in sales, down more than 36% to 171,909 copies, as did another title owned by Richard Desmond’s Northern & Shell, Star, which saw a fall of more than 15% to 124,649 copies. | Meanwhile the women’s market continued to see falls almost across the board. OK! magazine saw a sharp fall in sales, down more than 36% to 171,909 copies, as did another title owned by Richard Desmond’s Northern & Shell, Star, which saw a fall of more than 15% to 124,649 copies. |
| Northern & Shell head of magazines and women’s media Sarah Perry conceded that print magazines were facing tough conditions, but said OK! was outperforming its competitors on social media and other digital platforms. | Northern & Shell head of magazines and women’s media Sarah Perry conceded that print magazines were facing tough conditions, but said OK! was outperforming its competitors on social media and other digital platforms. |
| She said: “Despite a generally tough trading climate industry-wide, we are witnessing audiences continuing to adapt the way they engage with OK! as a multiplatform brand, to best suit their mobile lifestyles. | She said: “Despite a generally tough trading climate industry-wide, we are witnessing audiences continuing to adapt the way they engage with OK! as a multiplatform brand, to best suit their mobile lifestyles. |
| “Over the last 18 months, OK! has witnessed its multiplatform audiences grow by 21%, now reaching an industry leading 6.3m UK adults every month and delivering some of the best video content on celebrity news with over 2.2m monthly views. | “Over the last 18 months, OK! has witnessed its multiplatform audiences grow by 21%, now reaching an industry leading 6.3m UK adults every month and delivering some of the best video content on celebrity news with over 2.2m monthly views. |
| “Furthermore, OK! leads the industry in social media audience engagement with over 200,000 more followers across a combined Facebook, Instagram and Twitter than its nearest rival in Hello.” | “Furthermore, OK! leads the industry in social media audience engagement with over 200,000 more followers across a combined Facebook, Instagram and Twitter than its nearest rival in Hello.” |
| Across the rest of the women’s titles, Heat, Best and Glamour all saw double-digit falls in circulation, while Closer magazine fared slightly better, losing 8% of its circulation as did Hello, down 5% and Bella which was down 4%. | |
| However, Cosmopolitan managed to buck the trend with a small 1.5% rise in circulation to 407,010, as did Elle, which saw sales rise almost 4% to 167,791. | However, Cosmopolitan managed to buck the trend with a small 1.5% rise in circulation to 407,010, as did Elle, which saw sales rise almost 4% to 167,791. |