Celebrity titles were among the losers as magazine sales fell by 3.4% in the year to June.

Audit Bureau of Circulation data revealed that in the celebrity and gossip sector, Heat (down 15.8% year on year), Reveal (-20.2%), Real People (-25.6%) and More! (-37.6%) were hit hard as gossip-focused websites gained in popularity.

Men’s magazines continued their poor performance of recent years, with Maxim, Zoo, Loaded and FHM all suffering double-digit circulation falls.

Phil Cutts, director of marketing at publishers’ organisation PPA, remained optimistic. “Despite a challenging environment, magazines have managed to retain their overall stability.”

Among the weeklies, OK! and Hello! bucked the downward trend with single-digit circulation growth while TV Choice increased its lead over What’s on TV as the biggest selling paid-for magazine in the UK.

There were promising results among the women’s glossies, with strong circulation performances from Psychologies, Grazia and Glamour.

Non-newstrade magazines including Saga, supermarkets’ in-house titles and the free men’s weekly Shortlist, also recorded circulation growth.

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