IRS Round 1, 2003-04: No major changes in positions of highest-read publications

As per the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) Round 1, 2003-04, the top four positions - in terms of overall (both urban and rural) all-India readership - remain unaltered from IRS Round 2, 2002-2003. Dainik Jagran continues to be the leading publication in the country, with an all-India readership (both urban and rural) of 1.57 crore. Dainik Bhaskar stays at the second spot with an all-India readership of 1.36 crore, followed by Malayala Manorama, with a readership of 90.64 lakh. Daily Thanthi, with an all-India readership of 88.71 lakh, stays the No 4.

The publications in the fifth and sixth positions have interchanged, with Amar Ujala (readership of 85.97 lakh) taking the fifth position from Eenadu (with a readership of 81.45 lakh). Lokmat (combined edition: Lokmat appears in two avtaars, Lokmat and Dainik Lokmat. Dainik Lokmat has Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Greater Mumbai and Solapur editions, while Lokmat has Akola, Nagpur, Jalgaon, Nashik and Pune editions.) comes in next with 74.69 lakh, followed by Mathrubhumi, with an all-India readership of 74.21 lakh (No 8). At No 9 is Hindustan with a readership of 73.87 lakh and The Times of India comes in at No 10 with a readership of 72.35 lakh.

Apart from being the tenth-most-read publication, The Times of India is also the top English publication (urban and rural) in the country. While India Today is the No 2 English publication (urban and rural), with a readership of 41.88 lakh, it is also the nation's most-read English magazine. Hindustan Times is the third-most-read English publication - and also the second-highest-read English newspaper - in India, with a readership of 29.47 lakh. The Hindu, with a readership of 27.10 lakh, comes at No 4, while Readers' Digest (25.66 lakh) is placed fifth, marginally ahead of sixth-placed Filmfare (25.42 lakh). Filmfare, however, is the most-read English film magazine in India, ahead of Stardust (14.30 lakh), which occupies the ninth position. Outlook, with a readership of 12.61 lakh, rounds off the top 10 English publications list.

If only urban readership is taken into consideration, Dainik Jagran and Dainik Bhaskar retain their places at the with readership figures of 84.21 lakh and 79.93 lakh, respectively. The Times Of India is the third-highest-read publication in terms of urban readership, with figures of 68.76 lakh. In the urban readership category, the positions of the top 10 English publications remain the same as in the categorization of urban and rural combined, with the sole exception of The Hindu and Readers' Digest changing places for the fourth and fifth positions.

In the English newspapers category (urban and rural), The Times of India (72.35 lakh) heads the list, way ahead of the second-highest-read English newspaper - Hindustan Times (29.47 lakh). The third-highest-read English newspaper is The Hindu (27.10 lakh), followed by Deccan Chronicle (10.53 lakh) and The Telegraph (10.23 lakh).

Among the different media options in the country, the reach (all India) of terrestrial television (1/week) is the highest, at 51 per cent. Cable and satellite television (all) is at 24 per cent, followed by print (AIR), at 23 per cent. Radio (1/week), Cinema (1/month) and Internet (1/week) occupy the next three positions, at 16 per cent, 5 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively. © 2004 agencyfaqs!