Pacific Magazines has become the last major publisher to withdraw from the Audited Media Association of Australia (AMAA), putting the final nail in the coffin for the audit.
The news follows NewsLifeMedia's decision announced earlier this week to remove its figures from the AMAA audit. Bauer and Fairfax have already pulled their figures in the months prior to the announcement. It is expected News Corp will also remove its newspaper titles from the audit in 2017.
The move from PacMags means magazines like Marie Claire, InStyle, Home Beautiful and Better Homes and Gardens will no longer provide its circulation numbers.
Publishers believe the audit no longer represents the depth of their audience, which are across many platforms, and advertising is bought using readership figures rather than circulation.
PacMags CEO Gereurd Roberts says the measure is "no longer representative" of the business' offering.
“Our brands have transformed and so too have our partner expectations. We’re being asked to deliver more granular, audience-based, cross-platform measures that better reflect how consumers interact with our brands, and the integrated solutions our clients require.
“The AMAA is a highly-regarded organisation and has been a valuable partner, however the circulation metric is no longer representative of our multi-faceted audiences, or our multi-faceted offering, and given the withdrawal of the other major publishers, is no longer representative of our industry.”
With all the big Aussie publishers pulling out of the audit, questions of transparency are rising to the surface. However PacMags believes it can still deliver independent metrics through Roy Morgan, Ipsos and Nielsen.
The media company will continue to engage with the AMAA on alternative and proposed measurements they are currently developing across platforms, which it signalled would be announced this year.
“Pacific is absolutely committed to providing accurate and transparent audience measurement. Granular audience-first, cross-platform metrics are where the market is demanding our focus, and reflects what we see as the future for our evolving, dynamic brands,” Roberts says.
The AAMA has been approached for comment. Yaffa Media, AdNews' parent company, does not submit its figures to the audit.
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