21 May 2026

Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) Q1 (January to March) 2026 Circulation Release

Total newspaper and magazine circulation registered a fourth consecutive annual increase in the first quarter of 2026 according to data released by the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) on Thursday.

Custom magazines continued to show strong growth, posting a near 20% increase year-on-year and helping keep overall print circulation on an upward trajectory.

However, paid newspaper and magazine circulation came under pressure in the quarter, reflecting a slow start to the year for these sectors.

Paid daily, weekly and weekend newspapers as well as consumer magazines all registered year-on-year declines after stabilising somewhat in 2025.

Overall newspaper circulation declined by only 1.3% year-on-year thanks to a stable performance from free newspapers. Daily newspapers fell 7% year-on-year, while weekend newspapers were down 17.1%. Quarterly declines were much more limited.

Magazines grew 8.1% in the year, buoyed by the growth in custom magazines. Consumer magazines were 5.8% down from the first quarter of 2025.

The latest figures released by the ABC show total newspaper and magazine circulation in SA growing 2.3% year-on-year to 8.4 million copies.

After growing members in the previous year, the number of titles registered with the ABC fell to 370, taking total membership back to where it was at the beginning of 2025.

Andrew Gill
ABC – President