Prabhat Khabar launches Muzaffarpur edition; Bhagalpur edition to follow soon

Prabhat Khabar is all set to introduce its Muzaffarpur edition. The all-colour edition, priced at Rs 3, will hit the stands on October 10.

KK Goenka, managing director, Prabhat Khabar, tells afaqs!, "The idea of launching the Muzaffarpur edition was in the pipeline for the last six months. After this, within two months, we will launch the Bhagalpur edition. The USP of the edition is that it will be available in all-colour -- so far, in this region, most dailies have a mix of black-and-white and colour pages."

Talking about circulation, Goenka says, "For the next three months, we are aiming at a circulation figure of 50,000 copies. At present, 25,000 copies have already been subscribed; and I am sure that through sales in the region, we will be able sell another 25,000 copies."

With the launch of its Muzaffarpur edition, the Hindi daily has also revised its advertising rates, which will come into effect from October 10.

According to company officials, the advertising rates for the entire Bihar region have been increased to Rs 450 per sq cm for black-and-white; while for colour, the rate has been fixed at Rs 585 per sq cm.

For the Jharkhand region, the black-and-white ad rate has been increased to Rs 700 per sq cm; while it is Rs 850 per sq cm for colour. Meanwhile, for the Muzaffarpur edition, the Hindi daily has fixed the ad rate at Rs 160 per sq cm for black and white, and at Rs 200 per sq cm for colour.

Speaking on the competition, Goenka adds, "We will be competing against Hindustan and Jagran in this region. While it will be difficult, I am sure that since we have a good product for the readers, we will be able to grab one of the top positions."

The company has invested about Rs 8-10 crore in the new printing facility at Muzaffarpur.