Magazine Publishers Double Circulation of Digital Editions

Magazines in the U.S. doubled circulation of digital editions in the first half of the year compared to a year earlier as publishers look to generate online revenue to make up for declining print advertising.

At least 258 magazines had more than 5.4 million digital editions of their print publications through June, according to a report from the Audit Bureau of Circulations. That compared with about 2 million in 2011. Total circulation was little changed as paid subscriptions advanced 1.1 percent and newsstand sales dropped 9.6 percent compared with a year earlier.

Digital circulation increased at the 87-year-old New Yorker, published by Conde Nast Inc. The weekly more than tripled its digital circulation to 44,439 this year compared with the same period a year earlier. Print circulation dropped 2.4 percent to 999,353 in the same period, according to the Audit Bureau.

Game Informer Magazine, a monthly title about video games, had the highest digital circulation with 1.22 million, a more than fivefold gain compared with last year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Edmund Lee in New York at elee310@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net