According to Nielsen Media Research, magazine publishers spent around £10m across six magazines in the last half of the year, as the battle between the celebrity titles intensified. However, the investment has paid off with across the board circulation increases for the titles in question.
Emap's Closer is reported to have been the subject of the biggest push, with an estimated £3.8m budget. Although the magazine has not yet had an official ABC audit, it is reported to have a circulation estimated at around 270,000 copies.
This week, Emap cut the cover price of Closer to 50p ahead of the launch of Northern & Shell's new celebrity title Wow!, which is due to debut this week.
IPC Media also spent heavily, promoting Now magazine with an estimated £1m spend. The move paid off for the publisher with the title retaining its dominance in the sector with a 10.5% increase in period-on-period circulation to 632,212. This puts it ahead of Emap's Heat, which rose by 15.8% over the period to 554,644.
At upmarket end of the sector, Northern & Shell's OK! magazine benefited from a £1.7m push. Its circulation rose by 10% period on period to 632,791.
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