U.S. magazine circulation flat despite digital gains

Magazine industry auditors say more U.S. magazines are selling more digital copies, but they still represented just 2.4 percent of circulation in the second half of last year as overall circulation was largely unchanged.

The number of magazine titles selling digital copies rose to 289, from 245 a year earlier. They sold 7.9 million digital copies, up from 3.2 million.

Overall circulation slipped 0.3 percent to 297.9 million copies. Paid subscriptions were up 0.7 percent, while single-copy sales fell 8.2 percent.

The Alliance for Audited Media said Thursday that top circulation magazines were the senior-focused AARP the Magazine and AARP Bulletin, with more than 22 million each. Cosmopolitan was the top seller at newsstands and other retail outlets, while Game Informer Magazine had the most digital copies sold.