THE CIRCULATION OF MAJOR PORNOGRAPHY MAGAZINES

The numbers of paid subscribers for selected pornography magazines are (The National Research Bureau, 1992):

Penthouse - 4,600,000
Playboy - 3,600,000
Hustler - 1,200,000
Gallery - 500,000
Oui - 395,000
Chic - 90,000

Studies conducted by many magazines indicate a pass-along readership of between two and five copies. This number is probably more like five copies for pornographic magazines because many people are embarrassed to buy their own copies, while minors may not be permitted to purchase copies by their families or by the sellers. Assuming five copies per pornographic magazine, the estimated readership of the six publications mentioned above adds up to approximately 52,000,000. This total does not include the many non-subscribers who purchase copies directly from the numerous outlets that carry them, and other persons who have access to these copies. On the other hand, the total also assumes that subscribers only subscribe to one of these pornographic magazines. Perhaps these two serious inaccuracies more or less cancel each other out.