Lads turn their backs on monthly magazines

The sales of monthly magazines for men have been severely eroded by the success of weekly lads' mags. The decline of established titles is clear from the latest ABC circulation figures. Maxim suffered most, losing 35.8% of its sales to record a circulation of 146,043 in the first half of the year. Loaded fell by 21.9% to 185,268 and FHM, the market leader, dropped by 24.9% to 420,688. So why did their owners launch weeklies? "It was a case of if we didn't do it, then someone else would," says Marcus Rich, an Emap executive. But the weeklies have not fared too well either. Zoo fell 12.5% to 228,024, though Nuts slipped by only 0.7% to 304,785. It's no secret why young men are shying away from magazines: they are turning more and more to the internet. (Via The Times)