<font color="#FF0033"><b>NRS 2006:</b></font> Most top English dailies see a marginal decline in readership

‘The Times of India’ emerged the most read English daily even in Mumbai and Delhi. ‘DNA’ beat ‘Hindustan Times’ in Mumbai and ‘Mumbai Mirror’ recorded more readership than ‘Mid-Day’

As per NRS 2006, most English dailies among the top 12 have seen a decrease in readership compared to the last year. The only three dailies in the top 12 list to have registered a growth in readership are ‘The Hindu’, ‘The New Indian Express’ and ‘Mid-day’.

‘The Times of India’ continues to hold the number one rank among English dailies with a readership of 75.02 lakh. However, overall it has seen a decrease in readership by 7.29 per cent from 80.92 lakh in NRS 2005.

In fact, the gap between the number one and two is very wide, with a difference of 34.38 lakh readers. This is unlike the Hindi dailies where the gap between the number one and two has come down to around two lakh this year.

In the second position among English dailies is ‘The Hindu’, with a readership of 40.64 lakh. In spite of competition from ‘Deccan Chronicle’ in its home ground Chennai, the readership has increased by 7.34 per cent. The newspaper not only has experienced growth in readership, it has also moved up one notch from number 3 in 2005. As per NRS 2005, ‘The Hindu’ readership was 37.86 lakh.

With ‘The Hindu’ at number two, ‘Hindustan Times’ has been pushed to the number three position this year, with a readership of 38.57 lakh. It had added an edition this year from Mumbai, but could not register any growth in readership. In fact, its readership has marginally declined by 2.28 per cent from 39.47 lakh readers in 2005.

In addition, in its home ground Delhi, the daily has been left behind by its biggest competitor ‘The Times of India’. In Delhi, the readership of ‘HT’ is 19.84 lakh, while there are 20.74 lakh readers of ‘The Times of India’ in Delhi. The readership of ‘Hindustan Times’ in Mumbai stands at 3.6 lakh.

‘Deccan Chronicle’, which also had another edition from Chennai this year, experienced a marginal decline in readership by 3.17 per cent. The newspaper, however, has retained its number four position with a readership of 15.86 lakh. For Chennai, the ‘Deccan Chronicle’ readership stands at 4.12 lakh, while that of ‘The Hindu’ is 9.14 lakh.

Kolkata-based English daily ‘The Telegraph’ has also managed to maintain its fifth position with a readership of 14.08 lakh. In comparison to NRS 2005, its readership has declined marginally by 4.15 per cent.

The number six and seven positions among English dailies have been exchanged by ‘The New Indian Express’ and ‘The Economic Times’. ‘The New Indian Express’ has made it to the number six position this year with a readership of 10.44 lakh. In fact, its readership this year has increased 18.77 per cent over 8.79 lakh readers in 2005.

This year, ‘ET’ has been pushed to number seven with a readership of 9.42 lakh, registering a decline by 20.03 per cent.

The new entrant in the top 10 list is ‘Mumbai Mirror’ at number eight, which registered a readership of 8.81 lakh.

This is followed by ‘Mid-day’ at number nine, which has been pushed down by one rank from last year. However, with a readership of eight lakh, it has seen a marginal growth by 1.91 per cent.

At number 10 is ‘The Tribune’, with a readership of 6.46 lakh. Its readership has declined by 9.65 per cent over NRS 2005.

Another new entrant in the market, DNA has just missed a berth in the top 10 list. At number 11, its readership stands at 5.21 lakh.

‘Indian Express’, which was in the top 10 list in NRS 2005, has moved to number 12 with a readership of 5.02 lakh, following the entry of new titles such as ‘Mumbai Mirror’ and ‘DNA’.

© 2006 agencyfaqs!