Prabhat Khabar to launch Bhagalpur edition

The group is all set to launch its third edition from Bihar early February.

The Hindi daily, Prabhat Khabar, is gearing up to launch its third edition from Bihar. The daily will launch its Bhagalpur edition in February.

According to company officials, the group is targeting an initial print run of at least 50,000 copies, of which the subscription order for 30,000 copies has already been placed. It will be an all colour edition.

Prabhat Khabar to launch Bhagalpur edition

Says Subhash Pandey, national sales and marketing head, "With this eastern edition, we will be catering to the entire state of Bihar. Bhagalpur is an important market for advertisers who want to reach out to readers in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand. In fact, 35-37 per cent of the revenue generated from retail advertisers in Bihar comes from Bhagalpur. The marketing campaign announcing the launch would start in the first week of February. Our prime strategy is to build a big subscription base before the launch of the edition." According to Pandey, the ratio of retail and national advertising is almost 50 - 50 in Bihar of which Bhagalpur, also known for its silk production, has an estimated market size of Rs 20 crore.

Until now, Bhagalpur was getting the Patna edition. The new edition will serve Bhagalpur and nearby areas including Khagaria, Purnia, Saharsa, Banka, Katihar, Munger and Madhepura. The edition will have 18-20 pages on an average, and will bear a cover price of Rs 3.

According to company sources, the display advertisement in the new edition will cost Rs 210, while front page ads can be booked for Rs 421.

The new edition will include all the supplements of its Muzaffarpur edition, including Avasar, a career supplement, Surbhi for its female readers and Ravivari, its Sunday edition.

As per the census of 2001, Bhagalpur has a literacy rate of 49.50 per cent, with the male literacy rate is 59.2 per cent and female literacy lagging behind at 38.1 per cent.

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