it was first published on april 19, 2000. , its average paid circulation was over 2.7 million copies, two thirds by subscription. a south african edition was first published in april 2002; according to the south african advertising research foundation, its average readership was over 300,000. the editor of the south african edition is samantha page. while most us magazine sales declined in 2009, "o" magazine increased its newsstand sales by 5.8 percent to 662,304 copies during the second half of the year. the magazine's newsstand sales fell 15.8% during the first half of 2010, while its subscription circulation increased, and sales fell 8.2% in the later half of the year.