In my shop today I spoke with several customers browsing the women’s magazine area. They were each over 60 and looking for People’s Friend and anything similar we had. Two, shopping together, said they had outgrown “the trash”. Another said she liked the “comfort” of People’s Friend. Another said that the English Women’s Weekly “made her week”.
While not considered that advertiser interesting, this demographic is less likely to be lured by online offerings; they’re loyal; they are happy to pay around $3.00 for a thinner content focused weekly. Look at People’s Friend. It’s around 20% of the size of the major weeklies yet two thirds the price.
If I were a publisher I’d be playing in this space rather than leaving it to English publishers as happens now.