The New Statesman’s subscriptions, registered users and digital audiences all grew significantly in 2021, taking the magazine’s circulation to its highest level since 1981.
Average magazine circulation is now over 41,000, of which 37,000 are paid copies – an increase of more than 12 per cent on the previous year. Combined print and digital subscriptions rose by 31 per cent in 2021, while subscriptions to the New Statesman’s leading political and cultural emails – which include Morning Call, World Review and the revamped Ideas and Letters – rose to more than 185,000.
The latest results follow a significant expansion in the New Statesman‘s international reach, and an investment plan that includes adding bureaux in Brussels, China and the United States. Andrew Marr, the former BBC political editor, has joined the title as political editor and columnist. Both the print edition and the website were given a new visual identity in September last year. The site is now delivering over 2 million unique users each month, with industry-leading dwell times.
Tom Young, the New Statesman’s editorial director, said: “The recent growth is positive, but is just the start. The New Statesman’s high-quality journalism provides both context and understanding for our audiences and is proving popular in the UK and internationally.
“What sets the New Statesman apart is its sceptical and independently liberal politics, as well as the quality of its writing and intellectual ambition. With a stable of writers that includes Andrew Marr, John Gray, Lola Seaton, Helen Thompson, Kate Mossman, Adam Tooze, Ailbhe Rea, Katie Stallard, Bruno Maçães and Jeremy Cliffe, we can give our readers a view on the wider world unmatched by other publications.”
This year’s audience growth builds on a very strong performance in 2020, when digital subscriptions grew by 75 per cent. The title’s growing audio-visual operation is achieving rapid growth too, with the second series of Armando Iannucci’s Westminster Reimagined due in the spring. In January 2022 there were half a million NS podcast downloads, double the same period in 2021.
This article originally appeared on New Statesman.