IRS Q3 2010: Top 10 Dailies in West Bengal

All Major dailies in the state lose ground; Bartaman, Sambad and Uttar Banga Sambad are the saving graces with high growth rates.

Rajat Arora | Delhi | December 3, 2010

The Q3 of IRS 2010 presents a different picture of Bengali newspaper market. All newspapers except Bartaman, Sambad and Uttar Banga Sambad have lost readers.

No.1 Bangla daily 'Anand Bazar Patrika' has lost 2,62,000 readers in IRS Q3 2010 though it maintains its top spot. Its current AIR stands at 62.04 lakh as compared to 64.66 lakh in IRS Q2 2010.

Bangla Daily 'Bartaman' has strengthened its position at No.2 with 8.2% growth by adding 2.31 lakh readers in the current survey. It has recorded an AIR of 30.42 lakh as compared to 28.11 lakh in last survey findings.

The 3^rd major player in West Bengal, 'Sangbad Pratidin' has also seen a sharp decline of 5.6% and has lost 64,000 readers in the third quarter of IRS 2010. Its AIR now stands at 11.03 lakh as compared to 10.39 lakh in IRS Q2 2010.

The English daily from Anand Bazar Patrika Group, 'The Telegraph' is at No.4 position. It has registered a marginal decline in the third quarter results of IRS. The English daily has recorded an AIR of 10.23 lakh as compared to 10.27 lakh in the last survey findings.

'Ganashakti' is the fifth largest read daily in the state despite losing 99,000 readers. Its AIR stands at 8.61 lakh in IRS Q3 2010 as compared to 9.60 lakh in the last quarter.

At No.6 is 'Aajkal'. The paper has also lost readers and now has AIR of 7.24 lakh. It had recorded AIR of 7.85 lakh the previous quarter.

'The Times of India' has also lost 3,000 readers in West Bengal in IRS Q3 2010. The English daily is at 7^th spot with current AIR of 6.39 lakh as compared to 6.42 lakh in previous quarter.

'Uttar Banga Sambad' has jumped to 8^th spot with a maximum growth in this quarter. The paper has got 79,000 new readers in Q3 of IRS 2010. Its current AIR stands at 5.74 lakh as compared to 4.95 lakh in the last quarter.

At No 9 is 'Sanmarg' with 4.99 lakh readers. The paper has lost 6,000 readers in the current Survey. It had AIR of 5.05 lakh in the previous quarter.

'Sambad' holds the 10^th spot in the state with 3.11 lakh readers as per the average issue readership data release in the third quarter of IRS 2010. The daily has registered 6.5% of growth. In Q2 of IRS 2010 the paper had AIR of 2.92 lakh.

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Rajat.Arora@BestMediaInfo.com

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