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| Edited By: |Source: DNA |Updated: Mar 16, 2018, 04:44 AM IST
On first impressions, the latest Indian Readership Survey Round 1 (2009) figures indicate that the English news readership base in Bangalore has come down 7% compared with the numbers thrown up during the survey’s last round in 2008.
Except New Indian Express and Hindu Business Line (which operate on a small base), readership of all other English dailies has come down.
On a closer look, it is clear that new entrants have shaken up the market for English dailies in Bangalore. Daily News and Analysis (DNA), the Mumbai-based English daily which launched its fifth edition in Bangalore in December 2008, is at the forefront of this assault, followed by Deccan Chronicle.
Within five months, DNA has managed to reach a circulation of 1.75 lakh copies, thus carving out a niche for itself in the cosmopolitan city where English news readership was largely shared between The Times of India, Deccan Herald and The Hindu.
Media buyers point out that the average issue readership (AIR) for TOI Bangalore shows a percentage decline of 5.1% in IRS 2009 Round 1, over IRS 2008 R2. The same comparison between IRS 2009 R1 and IRS 2008 R1 also paints a gloomy picture for TOI, showing a decline of 16.5%.
Meanwhile, IRS 2009 R1 showed readership of Deccan Herald, which once used to be the leading newspaper in Bangalore, has dropped to 22.5% compared with IRS 2008 R2 numbers.
Industry experts attribute the fall in readership figures to two factors. According to Partha Ghosh, general manager of Group M company Motivator, the first factor is the cosmopolitan nature of the Bangalore crowd.
“There’s a possible surge in readership of newspapers in Kannada, Telugu. The second factor is the aggressive marketing by new entrants like DNA and Deccan Chronicle,” he says, adding, “They’re pitching themselves very aggressively and have gained strength in media plans.
Anita Devraj Mookerji, general manager, Mediacom, says, “The drop in Bangalore readership base also includes the TOI’s readership base. Both DNA and Deccan Chronicle’s Bangalore editions have not been reported in the IRS and they claim an increase in circulations. They’ve been included in a media buyer’s consideration set, more so to drive down rates of TOI and Hindu, and not so much because they were anticipated to rock the city.”
Mookerji also notes that the regional dailies are still very much popular in Bangalore. Bangalore has several of them such as Kannada Prabha, Udayvani and Vijay Karnataka
“Post the merger of Vijay Times and TOI, the latter swept a lot of readers away from Deccan Herald. But the language dailies have a big following. Although TOI’s readership is high amongst cosmopolitan crowd, it is not a polarised market.”
Ketan Karnik, media director at India Media Exchange, which is the combined media buying unit for Starcom Mediavest Group and Zenith Optimedia, says, “The competitive environment is making each newspaper come up with new ideas. While TOI and Deccan Herald have lost market share, DNA and Deccan Chronicle are trying to replicate their successes in Mumbai and Hyderabad, respectively. Bangalore is also a cosmopolitan market like Mumbai.”
Karnik also points out that high concentration of readers working in the IT and ITeS sectors also helps. “So, a product like DNA Money is good for them since it’s compact and they may not subscribe to The Economic Times, since DNA provides them general and entertainment news as well.”
Thomas Xavier, chairman and national creative director of advertising agency Orchard, says within a short span, DNA has established itself as “a genuine alternative to TOI, thanks to its Mumbai pedigree.” “Both Indian Express and Deccan Herald are trying to catch up after DNA came. Its combination of lifestyle reporting and news is more upbeat for the tempo of Bangalore.”
