Sumantha Rathore
Media

IRS 2010 Q4: Dailies lose readers in Assam

In Assam, the biggest state in the North-East market, both English and Assamese dailies have lost readers.

Most dailies have lost readers in Assam, the biggest state in the North-East market. Any Assamese daily has lost 1.9 lakh readers (2.49 per cent) in the last 1.5 years, bringing down their total readership (TR) to 74.42 lakh.

In Guwahati, the capital city, Assamese dailies have lost a marginal 17,000 readers (3.27 per cent). The total readership for any Assamese daily in the city is 5.03 lakh.

IRS 2010 Q4: Dailies lose readers in Assam
IRS 2010 Q4: Dailies lose readers in Assam
The No. 1 daily of the state, Asomiya Pratidin, which reaches out to 74 per cent of Assamese daily readers in the state, has lost 4.66 lakh readers, marking a de-growth of 7.76 per cent, in the last 1.5 years. The daily, today, claims a total readership of 55.37 lakh.

Asomiya Khabar, the No. 2 player has also lost close to 6 lakh readers, which has brought down its total readership to 25.02 lakh.

However, the biggest loser is the No. 3 player Dainik Agradoot, which has lost 8.2 lakh readers, (26.44 per cent), bringing down its total readership to 22.81 lakh.

English dailies in the state have also met with a similar fate, as they have lost 34,000 readers (2.63 per cent), taking their total readership to 12.61 lakh.

English dailies in Guwahati, which claim a total readership of 2.73 lakh - half the size of Assamese dailies, have lost 36,000 readers in the city.

But, in the rest of Assam, English dailies have recorded a marginal growth of 2,000 readers, from 9.86 lakh total readers in R2, 2009, to 9.88 lakh in Q4, 2010.

The largest English daily in the state is Assam Tribune, with a TR of 10.52 lakh, though it has also lost 42,000 readers in the last 1.5 years since R2, 2009.

In the state capital, the daily claims a total readership of 2.2 lakh. It has lost 33,000 readers - a de-growth of 13.04 per cent.

The Telegraph is the No. 2 daily in the state, with a total readership of 3.28 lakh (one-third of Assam Tribune's readership). The English daily has lost 1.37 lakh readers, which is close to 30 per cent.

In Guwahati, The Telegraph has lost 40,000 readers, bringing down its total readership to 99,000.

The Times of India reaches out to readers in Assam mainly through its Kolkata edition. The daily has also lost 41,000 readers in the state, bringing down its total readership to 1.81 lakh.

In the magazines space, only Hindi monthly titles have registered a gain during the period. Any Assamese monthly magazine has the highest readership (24.77 lakh), followed by any English monthly (TR of 6.50 lakh), followed by any Hindi monthly with a TR of 1.67 lakh. Any Bengali monthly has the lowest readership in the state, with 54,000 readers.

In this North-Eastern state, any Hindi monthly has grown at the rate of 42.74 per cent since R2 2009, adding 50,000 readers during this period.

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