The group plans to invest close to Rs 90 crore in two phases, to launch Dainik Bhaskar in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana.
MUMBAI: The Bhaskar Group, a diversified media house, is all set to enter Punjab with its Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar after establishing a strong presence in Chandigarh and Haryana. The daily is being launched in three cities, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana.
Eyeing a September launch in the first two cities, the group has started its signature market-research approach to garner reader feedback and establish a pre-launch subscriber base. The group plans to invest close to Rs 90 crore in two phases, 35-40% of which will go into fixed assets and the rest for operating expenses.
Bhaskar Group director Girish Agarwaal said that the Punjab foray would come in two phases, with Amritsar and Jalandhar coming up earlier. “By September, we should launch in Amritsar followed by Jalandhar a week or so later. Our entry in Ludhiana will happen in the second phase, which will be announced at a later date,” said Agarwaal. The project is being funded through a mix of debt and internal accruals.
Dainik Bhaskar will be competing against established players such as Punjab Kesri and Dainik Jagran. However, Agarwaal has a different take on this. “Our strategy has always been to look at the market potential and not the competition.
Over the past few years, Punjab has seen major growth in its economy and that is why we have decided to enter the market. The objective here is to grow the market, which is currently experiencing advertising growth at a compounded annual growth rate of between 15-18%,” says Agarwaal. Dainik Bhaskar will be the first national daily to print out of Amritsar.
While the group sees the entire country as a potential market for expansion, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir are immediate potential markets. However, no concrete decision has been taken on these markets.
The group recently forayed into radio with the launch of My FM radio in Jaipur last month. “We have licences for 17 cities and expect to get them operational by the end of March, 2007, provided the towers get erected on time,” says Agarwaal. The overall investment in FM radio is expected to be in the range of Rs 200 crore. The group has radio FM licences in all the three Punjab cities where Dainik Bhaskar is being launched, increasing the media impact.
A business conglomerate, the Bhaskar Group has diversified interests in sectors such as media, textiles, vegetable oils and marketing of salt. Bhaskar group is a joint venture partner with the Zee TV group in promoting Diligent Media Corporation, which publishes DNA (Daily News & Analysis).
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