The New Statesman’s paid circulation has grown by more than 27 per cent in the past year to 43,230, with a total average circulation (including free distribution) of 47,320 per issue. Accompanied by a significant growth in the size of online audiences, this represents the magazine’s highest readership for more than four decades.
While newspapers, magazines and other subscription services have been impacted by inflation, the New Statesman’s growth shows that high-quality journalism retains a durable appeal. Meanwhile, a continued commitment to developing new writers, innovating in design and developing audio, video and app editions, as well as newsletters, have helped the New Statesman reach new audiences. The New Statesman website now has well over 400,000 registered users and receives more than two million visits per month.
“We have created consistent subscription growth by diversifying our efforts into the development of our digital products,” explained Sam Fairburn, the New Statesman’s marketing director, noting that growth had also been driven by “enterprise subscriptions, and the growth of our podcasts and app audiences”. Last week it was announced that the magazine’s podcasts have been shortlisted in seven categories at the Publisher Podcast Awards.
Fairburn said that the New Statesman has also introduced “much more flexible pricing plans to help our customers during this difficult period”, and “invested in new technology to improve our customer service and user experience”.
The title’s progress in 2022 builds on the gains made in 2020, when digital subscriptions grew by 75 per cent, and in 2021, when audiences increased again with the launch of a redesigned magazine, a new website and the arrival of Andrew Marr as the New Statesman’s political editor.