Doctor Who Adventures

Doctor Who Adventures, first published by BBC Magazines, is a weekly (formerly fortnightly) magazine aimed at younger readers. Like Panini's long-running Doctor Who Magazine, the title features a mix of articles about the series and comic strips. It isn't considered a competitor to DWM, however, as the two magazines promote each other, and unlike DWM, "DWA" isn't currently (2011) available outside the United Kingdom and Ireland (mostly likely due to it being regularly published with "free gift" items, as described below).

Doctor Who Adventures currently comes out every Thursday.

From issue 244, Doctor Who Adventures was published under licence from BBC Worldwide, by Immediate Media Company London Limited.

History
The magazine launched with its first issue cover-dated 5 April 2006, priced £1.99. With DWA 47 (17 January 2008), this title became a weekly, available every Thursday priced £2.10 (UK). In January 2010 the magazine published its 150th issue. People can subscibe to the magazine, and some who do receive theirs on a Tuesday.

From issue 160 DWA changed its format to match the branding associated with the new Eleventh Doctor era.

Features
Regular features of the magazine include; posters, fact-files (main features), collectable one page alien guides, favourite scenes (told as photo-stories), previews, reviews, behind the scenes features, questions and answers, some interviews, and an assortment of quizzes, puzzles, activities and make-its (usually a cut-out mask), and competitions, as well as readers' letters, pictures and artwork.

Each issue comes with a free gift, and is often sold wrapped or bagged to secure the contents.

The magazine also features a regular comic strip adventure.

Readership
The Doctor Who-related free gifts (often only available in specific regions of the country), multiple covers, and UK only availability, contribute to making this title very collectable. A 2007 readers' survey revealed that even though this title is aimed at a children's market, it is read by 21% of regular Doctor Who Magazine readers of varying ages.

The Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC's) twice yearly, February 2008 report, gave the Doctor Who Adventures title a circulation figure of 150,763 a rise of some 44% on the previous six months, making it one of the top performing titles published in the UK, and positioned it top in the children's sector, and the 52nd top title overall from all categories.

However the ABC's figures for 2009 showed a nearly 50% drop in circulation, with 44,664 copies circulated between 1 July and 31 December 2009, compared to 82,205 copies moved during the same period in 2008. A statement from the managing director of BBC Children's Magazines attributed the drop to the lack of a regular Doctor Who series in 2009, and indicated that the company is committed to continuing the magazine into 2010.

Radio Times

 * The official BBC TV and radio listing magazine featured a number of promotional material.
 * Besides full page advertisements and mentions, the 11 October 2008 edition also included an extensive 8-page pull-out advert for Doctor Who Adventures offering a special subscription offer which for forgoing the regular gifts with each issue offered a number of more substantial gifts spaced throughout the year including Birthdays and Christmas.

USB Giveaway

 * Promoting the return of the Doctor in the Easter Special (Planet of the Dead) a set of three USB devices were available to order online (featuring The Tenth Doctor, Daleks and Cybermen) from Expansive Media costing £2.99 p&p each.
 * Each USB featured some preloaded material.
 * Promotions ran in The Daily Telegraph newspaper, and BBC Magazines' Radio Times and Doctor Who Adventures titles.

Mirror Newspaper Giveaway

 * In Summer 2009, the Daily Mirror newspaper promoted the Doctor Who Adventures in a series of giveaway special edition magazines in consecutive Saturday editions, featuring reprinted material from the magazine.
 * The first two were seperate 16-page giveaways magazines and included the comic strip stories Hear No Evil and The Ball and Chain Gang respectively and a £1-off voucher.
 * The following four were mini-mags and formed an eight-page pullout in the TV listing magazine.


 * Issued in the week before The End of Time broadcast, this special issue from the Doctor Who Adventures team included photos and features that included 'Who is the Doctor?','What we love about Who at Christmas!','The End of Time preview','Double page Tenth Doctor and Alien foes poster', 'Top 10 Tenth Doctor Moments','Who says? (quotes)', 'The 10 Doctors' (plus the Eleventh), and 'The Tenth Doctor's Adventures'.
 * Unlike the previous special releases the content was all-new and both written and presented for an older age-group than the weekly Doctor Who Adventures title which may explain why this issue is totally advert free (including the DWA title).