Technology magazines reflect the falling trend of readership for general publications, with figures from research firm Roy Morgan showing a downward trend for this category of magazines in Australia.
The firm released figures for both circulation of the hard-copy versions and overall readership, both for hard copy and digital versions.
The readership for PC & Tech Authority, measured for the percentage of the population above the age of 14, fell from 0.5% in December 2016 to 0.4% in December 2017, Roy Morgan said.
In terms of numbers, this was a fall of 25.7%, from 105,000 copies to 78,000 copies.
{loadposition sam08}PC PowerPlay had a steeper fall, with the readership falling from 0.5% of the population above 14 to 0.3%.
In numbers, this was a fall in circulation of 37.1% from 105,000 copies to 66,000 copies.
While APC magazine kept its readership steady at 0.5% of the population above 14, its circulation fell by 13.1% from 107,000 to 93,000.
The Roy Morgan stats showed that PlayStation magazine had fallen from 0.7% (December 2016) to 0.6% in December 2017 in terms of readership for the same segment as the other two magazines.
Numbers-wise, the circulation of PlayStation magazine fell from 141,000 copies to 130,000, a fall of 7.8%.
The magazine TechLife fell from 0.4% to 0.3% in readership terms while its circulation fell from 71,000 copies in December 2016 to 68,000 copies a year later.
Xbox magazine also fell, from 0.7% in December 2016 to 0.6% a year later. Circulation fell by 6000, from 132,000 in December 2016 to 126,000 in December 2017, a drop of 4.5%.
Commenting on the overall figures for all magazines, Michele Levine, chief executive of Roy Morgan, (above, right) said: "Fifteen million Australians aged 14+ read magazines whether in print or online (either via the Web or an app) in the year to December 2017 – virtually unchanged from a year ago."
She said that an analysis of the latest readership results showed the most widely read magazines were again Coles Magazine and Woolworth’s Fresh which both increased their average issue readership by over 10% in the year to December 2017.
“The strong results for magazines catering to specific areas of interest show that magazines in print or online format can build loyal audiences who keep coming back to consume quality information underpinned by their level of in-built trust in the brand," Levine added.