By Prajjal Saha & Sapna Nair
Media

IRS 2009 R1: DNA, The Hindu register growth; TOI, HT maintain almost a status quo

Among the top 10 English dailies, DNA has recorded a maximum growth by adding 1.5 lakh readers, while The Hindu has added 97,000 readers. The No.1 daily TOI has added only 12,000 readers

IRS 2009 R1: DNA, The Hindu register growth; TOI, HT maintain almost a status quo
The Times of India (TOI) continues to be the No.1 English daily in the country, as per the latest round of IRS (Round 1, 2009) with a total readership of 1.33 crore. Even in the previous round of IRS (Round 2, 2008), TOI’s readership was 1.33 crore, however a closer look at the readership figures, suggests that the English daily has added around 12,000 readers – a growth of 0.09 per cent. This status quo or a marginal growth is a positive sign for the newspaper as in the last round, the English daily had lost around 3 lakh readers in comparison to its previous round of IRS (Round 1, 2008) when its readership was 1.36 crore – a decline of 2.2 per cent.. In the last one year, since IRS (Round 1, 2008), the English daily has added the Chennai edition to its portfolio.

Hindustan Times continues to hold the No.2 position among the English dailies.

IRS 2009 R1: DNA, The Hindu register growth; TOI, HT maintain almost a status quo
Hindustan Times also has maintained its readership from its previous round with a readership of 63.4 lakh. Again on a closer look, the newspaper has lost 6,000 readers – a decline of 0.09 per cent – which is negligible. The English daily has been maintaining almost a status quo in readership as in the previous round (Round 2, 2008), it added some 1000 readers.
IRS 2009 R1: DNA, The Hindu register growth; TOI, HT maintain almost a status quo
Chennai-based English daily, The Hindu continues to hold its front despite TOI invading its home turf, last year. The English daily which has multiple editions outside Chennai, has added around 97,000 readers (1.8 per cent growth) from the last round of IRS (Round 2, 2008). However, when compared to the same period last year (Round 1, 2008), the newspapers’ readership is still lesser by 1.78 lakh readers (a decline of 3.2 per cent). In the last round of IRS, it had lost around 2.75 lakh readers (a decline of 4.9 per cent). The addition of 97,000 new readers in the current round has narrowed the gap and its current readership stands at 53.73 lakhs.

ABP Group’s English daily which has a strong hold in the eastern region continues to be at No.4 with a readership of 28.18 lakh readers. However, the Kolkata-based daily has lost around 1.52 lakh readers from the previous round – a decline of 5.1 per cent. The daily has been on a decline for the last two rounds as it had lost around 68,000 readers even in the previous round. As per IRS (Round 1, 2008), its readership was 30.28 lakhs – a decline of 7.24 per cent since then.

IRS 2009 R1: DNA, The Hindu register growth; TOI, HT maintain almost a status quo
Hyderabad-based Deccan Chronicle too has witnessed a slight decline in readership in the current round of IRS (Round 1, 2009). In the current round of IRS, it has lost 55,000 readers, which is still a better performance than the previous round, when it had lost around 2.05 lakh readers. In the latest round, its readership stands at 27.68 readers which implies a by 8.6 per cent decline in readership compared to IRS (Round 1, 2008).

Times Group’s business daily, The Economic Times has also lost 89,000 readers in the current round (IRS, Round 1, 2009) – which is a decline of 4 per cent. In the previous round, it had almost maintained a status quo by registered a negative growth of only 0.2 per cent which is 5,000 readers. Its current readership stands at 19.17 lakh.

IRS 2009 R1: DNA, The Hindu register growth; TOI, HT maintain almost a status quo
The Mumbai-based English tabloid, Mid-Day, which has ventured out of the city in the last few years with editions from Bangalore, Pune and Delhi, has moved up by a position among English dailies, although its has registered a decline in readership. It has lost 34,000 readers in the current round – a decline of 2 per cent. However, its performance has improved compared to the previous round of IRS (Round 2, 2008) when it had lost around 1,47,000 readers – a loss of 8.33 per cent. Mid-Day’s readership in this round stands at 15.83 lakhs – 10 per cent lesser than what it used to be a year ago.

With Mid-day claiming the No.7 position, The New Indian Express has been pushed to No.8 in the current round. The newspaper despite revamping itself has lost more than 4 lakh readers in the last one year – a loss of 20 per cent. From 19.77 lakh readers in IRS (Round 1, 2008), its current readership stands at 15.66 lakhs. In the current round, it has lost 2.59 lakh readers.

IRS 2009 R1: DNA, The Hindu register growth; TOI, HT maintain almost a status quo
Mumbai Mirror, the Times Group tabloid which is also distributed free along with The Times of India is at No.9 with a readership of 15.57 lakh. While in the previous round it had added 31,000 readers, in the current round it has lost 65,000 readers. So compared to Round 1 of IRS 2008, its current readership is down by 34,000 – a loss of 2.1 per cent.
IRS 2009 R1: DNA, The Hindu register growth; TOI, HT maintain almost a status quo
DNA, at No.10, has recorded the maximum growth among the top English dailies having added 1.52 lakh readers in the current round – a growth of 11 per cent. In fact, the English daily, which added the Bangalore edition last year, has been on a growing spree for the last two rounds. Even in the previous round it had added 26,000 readers. In fact in the last one year, its readership has grown from 13.11 lakhs in IRS (Round 1, 2008) to 14.89 lakhs in the current round – a growth of 13.5 per cent.
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