If the past decade has seen rapidly accelerating media fragmentation, few areas have been rocked as much as editorial brands. According to IPA TouchPoints data, since 2015, the collective reach of print newsbrands has more than halved, with print magazines sustaining an almost identical decline of -47%. Conversely, the digital companions of print titles have sustained strong growth, with online news reach increasing by 44% over the same timeframe and online magazines climbing by a staggering 162%.
As Star Wars actor Mark Hamill reportedly said, ‘Everything has changed but nothing has changed’. Having seemingly survived an existential threat, editorial brands continue to hold strong footing today.
PAMCo’s latest report, The Stories Behind the Numbers, provides deeper insights into the UK’s editorial media landscape, highlighting audience reach, engagement and demographic diversity.
Widespread reach
Magazines continue to reach 37+ million UK adults monthly, equating to 75% of the adult population, with 16 million men and 21.4 million women engaging through either print or digital media. When considering the audiences this reaches, there is a clear propensity among people aged 55+ towards printed titles, while those aged 35-54 resonate more with digital publications. This highlights the opportunity for brands to take an omnichannel approach to reach a broad mix of audiences through trusted editorial content.
What’s more, brands seeking to reach audiences across different media will have greater opportunities for measurement in 2025, with joint industry currencies Barb, PAMCo and UKOM having recently linked up. Following a successful pilot, the two-year collaboration will integrate readership, AV and web tracking data, to provide more holistic audience measurement.
Digital dominance
Digital magazine and news consumption continues to grow and dominate. But the key question is: can print keep up? Many publications have been shifting towards a digital-first approach, trying to engage younger audiences, and it’s clear why. In a continuation of the trend seen in recent years, magazine readership has decreased year-on-year by 2.54%, with combined print and digital data showing a near flat reach of -0.28%.
Where digital offers a more flexible approach for readers, rising production costs and decreased circulation may eventually spell the end for some longstanding printed titles – as seen with the final hard copies of Time Out in 2022 and, more recently, the Evening Standard’s daily edition.
Editorial endurance
Despite the changing tides, editorial titles must also be seen as a beacon of stability when considering audience trust. According to PAMCo, 90% of adults say they trust what they read in magazines – a far cry from the nation’s historically low trust in the news media.
With millions still showing faith in editorial titles, magazines may hold the key to meeting brands’ needs – drawing on their expertise to attract audiences and tailor content to briefs. For niche audiences in particular, magazines are often still a powerhouse for audience engagement.
For all that’s changed, editorial titles hold a special place within the media ecosystem. They may not have the scalability of TV or podcasts, or the lower-funnel ability of PPC, but what they do have is dedicated audiences who trust and frequent their content. If recent years are anything to go by, print will endure even as some titles end their printed editions, whilst digital consumption will only continue to grow.
