The magazine market - Italy

A magazine is a periodical publication printed in glossy, opaque paper. Magazines are generally published on a regular schedule and contain a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or a combination of the three. Nowadays, there is a growing trend in digitization of magazines, which are generally provided by publishers in two formats: print and digital. Then, thanks to specific platforms, the same content can be accessed while paying a lower fee, as digital versions cut paper and printing costs. The magazine market can be segmented by type (print and digital), topic, and geographic landscape. The global magazine market has been valued at $70.3 billion in 2021, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 1 percent over the period from 2021 to 2025. In Italy, more than in other countries, the shift in format choice from print to digital versions can be assessed. In fact, revenues from copy sales decreased by -11.3% in 2018, and are expected to continue to decline in the coming years. On the other hand, for the digital version of magazines, revenue increased by 7% in 2018, and is expected to surpass the print version by the end of 2021. However, this will not be enough to counter the decline of the print version of magazines. As a result, the market will experience a slight inflection in 2019-2023. On the other hand, it is possible to see how publishers are making efforts to target more customers for digital magazines. Thus, by discounting rates or making the first few months of subscription available for free, publishers are managing to broaden their customer base and, therefore, the number of customers they will be able to retain in the future.