‘Andhra Prabha’ branches out to Kurnool

‘Andhra Prabha’, the Telugu daily, is planning to branch out to Kurnool. The dry run in the region has been on for the past four-five days and the group is planning to launch the daily in the last week of May. The group is working on the logistical details of the new edition.

The Telugu daily currently has seven editions – in Hyderabad, Karimnagar, Vijayawada, Guntur, Rajahmundry, Vizag and Tirupati.

Ch. Budha Dev, deputy general manager, advertising and corporate marketing, explains the need for launching a new edition, “We wanted to target the Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh. Though we have a Tirupati edition, which has been covering the northern part of Rayalaseema, we wanted a link with the southern part as well. That is why the Kurnool edition is important for us.”

Gopal Krishna, chairman and publisher, ‘Andhra Prabha’, is currently holding the responsibility of editor for the new edition. However, before the launch of the paper, the group will hire a seasoned person for the post.

The daily’s target is to establish itself in the rural and semi-rural areas of Rayalaseema. As Dev puts it, “Most contemporary newspapers are targeting urban markets. But we do not want to follow on that road, we would rather reach the people who are not being targeted by other publications.”

The Kurnool edition will be priced at Rs 3 on weekdays and Rs 5 on Sundays. Isn’t that rather steep for rural and semi-rural readers? Dev asserts, “The cost is not a problem as we will be focussing on the higher income groups and the middle income groups in these areas. Also, on Sunday, we will give a 54-page supplement, so the price is reasonable.”

The 14-page daily broadsheet will have one page dedicated to local content and an eight-page tabloid for each district. The newspaper is testing ground by introducing a subscription promotion with attractive schemes.

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