All three top dailies in Chandigarh region have lost readers but the overall readership has increased. Read the complete analysis.

Rajat Arora | Delhi | September 17, 2010

Despite loosing 17,000 readers, Dainik Bhaskar still remains the number no.1 daily in Chandigarh region. The national daily has readership of 1,80,000 readers in Q2 of IRS 2010. In Q1 Bhaskar had AIR of 1,97,000.

No.2 in Chandigarh is The Tribune, the AIR of the English daily in Q2 IRS 2010 is 94,000. The paper has lost 1,000 readers in current IRS. In Q1 of IRS 2010 Tribune had AIR of 95,000.

Amar Ujala, the no.3 daily in Chandigarh has also seen marginal decline its readership numbers. The Hindi daily now holds AIR of 85,000. In Q1 IRS 2010 the paper had AIR of 88,000.

Hindustan Times has faired well in the current IRS. The English daily has added 4,000 readers and the paper stands firm at no.4 position with AIR of 78,000.

Dainik Jagran has also got 4,000 more readers on board in the current survey. The Hindi daily has gone up from the AIR of 24,000(Q1 IRS 2010) to 28,000 in Q2 of IRS 2010. the paper holds 5^th position in the union territory.

At no.6 is Punjab Kesari with 24,000 readers. The paper has added 2,000 readers in the current survey. In Q1 of IRS 2010 the paper had AIR of 22,000.

The Times of India is at No.7 position with 22,000 readers. The paper has lost 3000 readers in the current survey. The English daily had AIR of 25,000 in Q1 of IRS 2010.

With 16,000 readers Indian Express is at No.8 position. The paper has lost1,000 readers in the current survey.

Punjabi Tribune has also seen decline in its readership number. The Punjabi daily now has AIR of 9,000. The paper enjoyed the AIR of 13,000 in Q1 of IRS 2010.

Hindustan, nation’s no.3 daily is at No.10 position in Chandigarh. The paper has lost 4,000 readers in current survey and its AIR stands at 8,000.

Analytical inputs by Stratagem Media Pvt. Ltd.

Rajat.Arora@BestMediaInfo.com

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Detailed analysis of top 10 dailies in North, South, East and West Delhi based upon Average Issue Readership (AIR).

Rajat Arora | Delhi | September 13, 2010

National Capital Delhi has almost equal number of readers for English and Hindi dailies. The Indian Readership Survey divides the state into four parts as East, West, North and South Delhi. Each part of Delhi has its own readership pattern depending on its society and culture. For example, North Delhi has maximum number of Hindi readers with Navbharat Times on top while Hindustan Times is the largest read daily in South Delhi and West Delhi. In the current round of data The Times of India leads in East Delhi with a little margin over Hindustan Times. However, in overall Delhi, Hindustan Times remains as largest read English daily and Navbharat Times is the No.1 Hindi daily.

The No.1 daily of the National Capital is ‘Hindustan Times’ for the second consecutive round of data despite losing 51,000 readers in second quarter of IRS 2010. The English daily has an AIR of 19.61 lakh as compared to 20.12 lakh in Q1. It had surpassed The Times of India in Q1 by adding 78,000 readers in its AIR of 19.34 lakh in IRS R2 2009. Hindustan Times leads in South Delhi with 6.29 lakh readers where it has gained 8,000 readers in the current round of data. West Delhi too is dominated by Hindustan Times with an AIR of 4.70 lakh but it has lost 14,000 readers in this part of Delhi. It has lost its No.1 position in East Delhi in IRS Q2 2010 by losing 34,000 readers. It had overtaken The Times of India in Q1 with a little margin of just 2,000 readers. In East Delhi, Hindustan Times has current AIR of 4.30 lakh. In North Delhi too, Hindustan Times has lost its No1 position to Navbharat Times. By losing 12,000 readers in the current round of data, its AIR now stands at 4.31 lakh.

At second spot in Delhi is ‘The Times of India’ which has lost 63,000 readers. Its current AIR in overall Delhi stands at 18.85 lakh as compared to 19.48 lakh in Q1 and 20.25 lakh in IRS R2 2009. TOI has regained its No.1 position in East Delhi despite losing 26,000 readers with AIR of 4.36 lakh in current round of data. In West Delhi and South Delhi, it holds the second spot with 4.51 lakh and 5.96 lakh readers respectively. It has lost 24,000 readers in West Delhi and 15,000 readers in South Delhi. In North Delhi, the English Daily is at No.3 position with 4.01 lakh readers.

Hindi Daily ‘Navbharat Times’ is firmly holding No.3 spot in the National Capital and has shown consistent growth from last 2 surveys. Its current AIR stands at 17.24 lakh as compared to 16.90 lakh in Q1 and 15.90 lakh in IRS R2 2009. By gaining 66,000 readers in 2^nd quarter, it has become the new leader in North Delhi with an AIR of 4.82 lakh. Despite losing 11,000 readers in other 3 parts of Delhi each, Navbharat Times remains at No.3 position. Its current AIR stands at 4.01 lakh in South Delhi, 4.20 lakh in East Delhi and 4.21 lakh in West Delhi.

At No.4 in all parts of Delhi is Hindi daily ‘Hindustan’ with AIR of 11.6 lakh in IRS Q2 2010 in overall Delhi. It has registered a decline of 29,000 readers in the second quarter of IRS 2010. Its current AIR stands at 2.85 lakh in North Delhi, 3.08 lakh in South Delhi, 2.75 lakh in East Delhi and 2.92 lakh in West Delhi.

Hindi Daily ‘Punjab Kesari’ holds the 5^th spot in Delhi with current AIR of 7.45 lakh as compared to 7.50 lakh in IRS Q1 2010. It remains on No.5 position in North Delhi, South Delhi and West Delhi while in East Delhi it is at No.6. Its AIR in the second quarter of IRS 2010 stands at 2.18 lakh in North Delhi, 1.44 lakh in South Delhi, 1.65 lakh in East Delhi and 2.18 lakh in West Delhi.

India’s largest read daily ‘Dainik Jagran’ at No.6 position in Delhi with a slight growth in the current round of data. By adding 11,000 readers in second quarter of IRS 2010, its AIR now stands at 6.62 lakh as compared to 6.51 lakh in last round of data. Dainik Jagran has its most readers in East Delhi with an AIR of 2.62 lakh where it holds the 5^th spot ahead of Punjab Kesari. Its current AIR stands at 1.42 lakh in North Delhi, 1.36 lakh in South Delhi and 1.22 lakh in West Delhi.

At No.7 is English daily ‘Mail Today’ from India Today Group which has again become the 3^rd largest read English daily in the National Capital. By adding 16,000 readers in IRS Q2 2010, its AIR has reached up to 2.03 lakh as compared to 1.87 lakh in Q1. Mail Today had lost its 3^rd spot to The Economic Times. It had 1.94 lakh readers in IRS R2 2010. Its current AIR stands at 50,000 in North Delhi, 60,000 in South Delhi, 37,000 in East Delhi and 56,000 in West Delhi.

The largest read business daily of the country ‘The Economic Times’ is at No.8 position in Delhi with a slight decline of just 4,000 readers in current round of data. Its AIR in Q2 stands at 1.86 lakh as compared to 1.90 lakh in Q1. ET had replaced Mail Today to become No.3 English daily in Delhi in Q1 by adding 15,000 readers. Its current AIR stands at 41,000 in North Delhi, 56,000 in South Delhi, 43,000 in East Delhi and 47,000 in West Delhi.

English daily ‘The Hindu’ has maintained its growth and 9^th spot in this quarter too and added 12,000 readers to take its AIR up to 1.02 lakh as compared to 90,000 in last quarter. Its current AIR stands at 39,000 in North Delhi, 30,000 in South Delhi and 18,000 in West Delhi.

Hindi Daily ‘Amar Ujala’ has again registered marginal loss in the second quarter of IRS 2010. After losing 14,000 readers in Q1, the Hindi daily has lost 3,000 readers in Q2 to take its AIR at 95,000. Its current AIR stands at 22,000 in North Delhi and 53,000 in East Delhi where it holds 7^th spot.

The No.10 position in South Delhi is held by ‘The Indian Express’ with AIR of 22,000 while ‘Rashtriya Sahara’ holds 10^th spot in East Delhi with 33,000 readers despite losing 10,000 readers in current round of data. Hindi daily ‘Nai Dunia’ has made an entry into top 10 list in West Delhi with 17,000 readers.

Analytical inputs by Stratagem Media Pvt. Ltd.

Rajat.Arora@BestMediaInfo.com

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Rajat Arora | Delhi | September 9, 2010

The newspaper market in Pune region has a little reason to rejoice. The Maharashtrian city, now an education hub which was famously known as pensioner’s paradise till the 90’s has experienced marginal growth in its readership numbers. Pune now has Average Issue readership of 42,11,000. In quarter one of IRS 2010 Pune had AIR of 41,66,000.

Daily Sakal, the number one daily in Pune has AIR of 9,70,000 while in first quarter of IRS 2010 the paper had AIR of 8,93,000.

Lokmat, the no 1 Marathi daily is second in Pune. The paper has AIR of 6,58,000. In Q1 the paper had AIR of 6,18,000.

Pudhari, the Marathi daily has AIR of 3,27,000. In first quarter it had AIR of 2,98,000. it stands firm at no.3 position.

At No.4 is Times of India with AIR of 2,04,000. The English has gained 20,000 readers in second quarter.

Marathi Daily Loksatta is at no.5 with 77,000 readers. In Q1 paper had AIR of 66,000.

Prabhat, the Marathi daily is at no.6 with 64,000 readers. Punya Nagari, another Marathi daily is at no.7 with 47,000 readers.

At no. 8 is English daily DNA wit AIR of 42,000. In Q1 DNA had AIR of 37,000.

Shiv Sena’s Marathi mouthpiece Saamna is at no.9 with AIR of 36,000. Saamna had AIR of 19,000 in Q1.

Indian express is at no.10 with 35,000 readers. In Q1 Indian Express had AIR of  26,000.

Rajat.Arora@BestMediaInfo.com

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Lokmat stands as a clear champion in Greater Mumbai region with the Total readership of 32.05 lakh.

Rajat Arora | Delhi | August 30, 2010

Lokmat, the Marathi daily has strengthened its no 5 position among all national dailies by adding around 4 lakh readers in quarter 2 of IRS 2010. Lokmat, also No.1 Marathi daily now has TR (Total readership) of 2,37,00,000. The paper has AIR of 74 lakhs.

Lokmat continues to be the highest read Marathi daily and is the leader by a huge margin. The paper has TR of 32.05 lakh in Mumbai market and is clear champion in Greater Mumbai region. The paper has shown 12% growth in its TR in Greater Mumbai region whereas Loksatta and Maharashtra Times have lost 5% of their readers.

Speaking to BestMediaInfo.com Bharat Kapadia, Director, Lokmat Group said, “We have shown growth in this quarter as well and that signals our expanding readership base in Maharashtra region. According to ABC also the paper is improving and with all this we have strengthened our no.5 position nationally.”

Lokmat also claims to have circulation of 46,000 copies in Goa which indicates a good readership base there as well. The data of Goa market has still not been reported.

Lokmat is also 32 lakh readers ahead from its nearest competitor Daily Sakal in Maharashtra region.

Rajat.Arora@BestMediaInfo.com

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• English Press Is Loosing The Premium Status

As the No 3 Hindi daily celebrates its stupendous performance in the Quarter 2 results of IRS 2010, BestMediaInfo.com speaks to Shashi Shekhar, Editor-in-Chief, Hindustan on the way ahead for the paper and its expansion plans.

Rajat Arora | Delhi | August 30, 2010

After showing a constant growth in the IRS, Hindustan has finally entered the Top league of newspapers with Crore Plus readers. The paper is at No.3 with 1.01crore Average Issue readership (AIR). Its Total Readership has reached up to 3.09 crore by adding 15 lakh readers in IRS Q2 2010.

Speaking to BestMediaInfo.com Shashi Shekhar, Editor in Chief, Hindustan, said, “It is indeed heart warming that people of India have given such a good response to the newspaper. We at HT Media have history of making paper serving the needs of its readers. We’ve been constantly trying to give our readers the best in terms of content and design.”

The paper may not have faired to well in the parts of western UP in comparison to Dainik Jagran and Amar Ujala but in has come as No.1 newspaper in the Bareilly region where it was launched recently.

Clarifying BestMediaInfo.com on this Shashi Shekhar said, “We first launched the paper in Meerut and Agra and later went to Bareilly last year. The reason we couldn’t fare well in Meerut and Agra was that people had notion that it’s a newspaper from Delhi but now we’ve made paper more local and this will surely improve our readership in coming days. Apart from this we’ve done really well in Dehradun and we are only two year old in that market.”

The paper enjoys its highest readership in states of Bihar and Jharkhand. In Bihar paper commands a massive 73% share of the Hindi readership market of Bihar. Hindustan has been the No. 1 newspaper of Jharkhand, ever since readership surveys have been reported for the state. The paper has strong readership base of 14.69 lakhs in Jharkhand.

The coming days in Jharkhand and Bihar may not be easy for Hindustan as Dainik Bhaskar, nation’s no.2 Hindi daily last week launched its Ranchi edition and in Bihar Dainik Jagran, country’s no.1 daily has pulled up its socks. All this enough to give Hindustan sleepless nights.

Commenting on this Shashi Shekhar said, “Traditionally we’ve been strong in these markets and over the period of time the paper has become the part of the life of people in this region. Content wise we’ve always been innovative and blunt. We have no threats from Bhaskar entering Ranchi and Jagran pulling up its socks in Bihar till the time we know that our paper is superior.”

Delhi Market hasn’t brought desired results for the paper. Hindustan has seen decline of 2% in its AIR in Delhi. The paper remains at second spot with AIR of 11, 60,000. The paper had AIR of 11, 89,000 in Q1 of IRS 2010. Navbharat Times has always been the Leader in Delhi market. This time also Navbharat Times remained at the first spot with AIR of 17, 24,000. The paper has seen growth of 2% in its AIR. In QI of IRS 2010 the paper had AIR of 16, 90,000.

When asked about whether there’s a vacuum in Hindi Business daily market as the papers available in this genre are mere translation of their English editions, Shekhar asserted, “the Hindi Business daily market has still not evolved that much as market of English business daily market. The costs involve in launching a Hindi business daily would be huge and the returns would be meager.”

Commenting on further expansion plans Shashi Shekhar said, “We’ll surely be entering Hindi speaking states like Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan. Our launch in Gorakhpur got delayed due to certain reasons but in a month or to the paper would be rolled out from there.”

Shashi Shekhar refused to comment on when Hindustan will be entering Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan but indicated that Madhya Pradesh is first on their radar and soon paper will enter that market.

This will be enough to intense the war between Dainik Bhaskar and Hindustan as  the former is no.1 newspaper in Madhya Pradesh and has also recently invaded the territory of Hindustan with its Ranchi edition.

Hindi daily ‘Hindustan’ has recorded more than 2% growth in its AIR in 2nd quarter of 2010 and added 2 lakh readers as compared to IRS Q1 2010. Further strengthening its position at No.3, Its AIR now stands at 1.01 crore which was 99 lakh in the previous quarter. The Hindi daily from Hindustan Media Ventures had added 5.78 lakh readers in last quarter registering a growth of 6% as compared to IRS R2 2009.

Rajat.Arora@BestMediaInfo.com

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Jagran Targets Advertisers With No.1 Celebration Offer In Jharkhand

After the intensive marketing drive, Dainik Jagran and I Next combinedly emerge as new market leaders of Jharkhand.

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | August 30, 2010

Dainik Jagran – the flagship brand of Jagran Prakashan Ltd and India’s largest read daily for the past 15 consecutive rounds of the IRS survey – had launched an initiative in Jharkhand in April this year. This initiative was named Jharkhand Jagran or the reawakening of Jharkhand. At the end of this initiative Dainik Jagran + I Next have emerged as the new market leaders of Jharkhand. To celebrate this occasion, a special celebration offer has been extended to local advertisers.

As part of Jharkhand Jagran, a mass survey was conducted in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand . The Jagran survey covered over 2 L homes during April to Mid June. The survey went a bit beyond just capturing reading habits, and asked citizens to comment on the core issues concerning them.

There was an overwhelming response to the survey. As per the findings, people believed that empowerment though information was a key priority for them and newspapers played a critical role here. They believe that newspapers echo their voice and take their concerns to the decision makers and help in development of the state. The core issues that emanated from the research were the problem of political instability, law and order, and education amongst a whole lot of other issues. A Jagran Forum was conducted in Ranchi to address the issue of political instability and its impact on economic development. Political leaders from across the board came together on this platform and addressed this issue and sought to alleviate the concerns of the people as voiced in the survey.

Sometime during mid June all the 3 leading papers of Jharkhand including Dainik Jagran reduced the cover price to Rs 2. This was followed up with a very aggressive circulation drive. As a result of this, circulation numbers increased for all the existing players. Between 11th June to 18th August, the combined circulation of Dainik Jagran, Hindustan and Prabhat Khabar increased by over 50% within a month – leaving very little potential for the new entrant to encash. All along, the trade has been with the existing players as their financial interests have not been compromised.

As a result of intense on ground campaigns, editorial initiatives, aggressive pricing and circulation along with a host of branding initiatives, Dainik Jagran + I Next have emerged as the new market leaders in Jharkhand.

Info@BestMediaInfo.com

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IRS Q2 2010: Top 10 Language Dailies

Almost all the top language dailies in the country register growth. No change in positions.

Rajat Arora | Delhi | August 27, 2010

Kerala’s No.1 daily ‘Malayala Manorama’ is the most read newspaper of India among language dailies too. ‘Malayala Manorama’ has maintained its leadership with a growth of 2.7% by adding 2.6 lakh readers in Q2 2010. Its current AIR has reached up to 98.41 lakh as compared to 95.83 lakh in the previous quarter.

The largest read Marathi daily ‘Lokmat’ is the second largest read language daily in the country. In the second quarter of IRS 2010, Lokmat has added 41,000 readers. It has recorded an AIR of 74.02 lakh in current survey as compared to 73.61 lakh in the last quarter.

At No. 3 is Tamil daily ‘Daily Thanthi’ which has also registered growth by adding 49,000 readers. Its current AIR has reached up to 74.02 lakh as compared to 73.53 lakh in the last quarter.

Another Malayalam daily ‘Mathrubhumi’ holds the 4th spot despite losing 32,000 readers in the current survey. According to the AIR data released for second quarter of IRS 2010, it has recorded readership of 65.66 lakh as compared to 66.98 lakh in the last survey.

Mathrubhumi is closely followed by Bangla daily ‘Anand Bazar Patrika’ which has recorded a marginal growth in this quarter and added 7,000 readers. Its current AIR stands at 65.39 lakh as compared to 65.32 lakh in IRS Q1 2010.

Telugu daily ‘Eenadu’ is India’s No.6 language daily which has added 2.11 lakh readers in the second quarter of IRS 2010. Its current AIR stands at 61.54 lakh as compared to 59.43 lakh in last survey.

Gujrati daily ‘Gujrat Samachar’ has maintained status quo in its position and readership. 7^th among  country’s language dailies, ‘Gujrat Samachar’ has recorded and AIR of 52.18 lakh in IRS Q2 2010.

Another Tamil daily ‘Dinakaran’ holds the 8^th spot among top language dailies in India. After a slight decline in the readership in second quarter of IRS 2010, its AIR stands at 50.41 lakh as compared to 51.49 lakh in previous quarter.

Telugu daily ‘Sakshi’ holds the 9^th position firmly by adding 74,000 readers in this quarter. Its current AIR stands at 46.38 lakh as compared to 45.64 lakh in the last survey.

At No.10 is Marathi daily ‘Daily Sakal’ which has registered excellent growth and added 1.1 lakh readers in the second quarter of IRS 2010. Its current AIR stands at 42.02 lakh as compared to 40.92 lakh in the previous quarter.

Average Issue Readership (AIR) of a publication is defined as the number of readers of that publication who have claimed to have last read it within periodicity – i.e. last read a daily yesterday, a weekly within the last week, a monthly within the last month, etc.

This measure is considered to be a more relevant measure of ‘real’ or ‘regular’ readership, especially for newspapers, most of which have been read / ‘consumed’ as matter of daily habit. Conventionally, media planners even calculate & compare cost-benefits of dailies based on the AIR figure. And hence it is perhaps most relevant to study readership trends as well in terms of AIR.

Rajat.Arora@BestMediaInfo.com

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Rajat Arora | Delhi | August 25, 2010

Despite a slight dip in the average issue readership (AIR) data, The Hindustan Times continues to be the largest read English daily of Delhi. The results released for the second quarter of IRS 2010 show that HT has lost 51,000 readers. With decline of 2.53 %, its AIR now stands at 19.61 lakh. In first quarter of IRS 2010 newspaper had AIR of 20.12 lakh.

HT is closely followed by The Times of India. TOI has also recorded a marginal dip of in terms of AIR. The number one English daily of India has lost 63,000 readers in Delhi. The AIR of TOI now stands at 18.85 lakh. In first quarter of IRS 2010 newspaper had AIR of 19.48 lakh. The paper has experienced decline of 3% in its AIR.

Mail Today has taken over the third position, which was earlier held by Economic Times. Mail Today has AIR of 2, 03,000. The paper has experienced growth of 8.53%. In first quarter of IRS 2010 Mail Today had AIR of 1, 87,000.

Economic Times has been pushed to the fourth position by Mail today. ET has seen marginal dip of 2%.  The paper has lost 4000 readers and its AIR now stands at 1, 86,000. In first quarter of IRS 2010 ET had AIR of 1, 90,000.

Mint has also seen marginal dip of 1%. The AIR of Mint which was 1, 08,000 in first quarter now stands at 1, 07,000.

However, ‘The Hindu’ has strengthened its No. 6 position with AIR of 1, 02,000 lakh which is up by 13% from IRS R1 2010. The paper had AIR of 90,000 in first quarter of IRS 2010.

‘The Indian Express grabs the No.7 spot with AIR of 51,000. In first quarter of IRS 2010 paper had AIR of 44,000.

Business Standard is at 8^th spot with AIR of 29,000. The paper had AIR of 21,000 in first quarter of IRS 2010.

9^th position has been acquired by The Hindu Business Line with the AIR of 18,000. The paper has gained 4,000 readers in second quarter of IRS 2010.

Financial Express stands at 10^th position with AIR of 13,000.  The paper has lost 5000 readers in second quarter of IRS 2010.

Average Issue Readership (AIR) of a publication is defined as the number of readers of that publication who have claimed to have last read it within its periodicity – i.e. last read a daily yesterday, a weekly within the last week, a monthly within the last month, etc.

This measure is considered to be a more relevant measure of ‘real’ or ‘regular’ readership, especially for newspapers, most of which have been read / ‘consumed’ as matter of daily habit. Conventionally, media planners even calculate & compare cost-benefits of dailies based on the AIR figure. And hence it is perhaps most relevant to study readership trends as well in terms of AIR.

Rajat.Arora@BestMediaInfo.com

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Rajat Arora | Delhi | August 25, 2010

Second quarter of IRS 2010 has given mixed results for Hindi dailies in Delhi market.

The Times of India Group’s ‘Navbharat Times’ remains at the first spot with AIR of 17, 24,000. The paper has seen growth of 2% in its AIR. In QI 0f IRS 2010 the paper had AIR of 16, 90,000.

The gain of Navbharat Times has become loss of ‘Hindustan’. Hindustan has seen decline of 2% in its AIR in Delhi. The paper remains at second spot with AIR of 11, 60,000. The paper had AIR of 11, 89,000 in Q1 of IRS 2010.

‘Punjabi Kesri’ has also registered marginal dip of 1% in its AIR. The paper has lost 5000 readers and now its AIR stands at 7, 45,000. But the paper stands firm at No. 3 position.

‘Dainik Jagran’ has grabbed the fourth position with 6, 62,000 readers. The paper has experienced growth of 2% in its AIR. The paper had AIR of 6, 51,000 in Q1 of IRS 2010.

At No. 5 is ‘Amar Ujala’ with AIR of 95,000 readers. The paper has lost 3000 readers in this quarter.

Average Issue Readership (AIR) of a publication is defined as the number of readers of that publication who have claimed to have last read it within periodicity – i.e. last read a daily yesterday, a weekly within the last week, a monthly within the last month, etc.

This measure is considered to be a more relevant measure of ‘real’ or ‘regular’ readership, especially for newspapers, most of which have been read / ‘consumed’ as matter of daily habit. Conventionally, media planners even calculate & compare cost-benefits of dailies based on the AIR figure. And hence it is perhaps most relevant to study readership trends as well in terms of AIR.

Rajat.Arora@BestMediaInfo.com

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Four of top 5 Marathi newspapers in Mumbai register growth. Navakal’s readership declined marginally.

Rajat Arora | Delhi | August 25, 2010

In Marathi Dailies Maharashtra Times has further strengthened its No. 1 position by adding 43,000 readers. The AIR of Maharashtra Times stands at 9, 72,000. The paper had AIR of 9, 29,000 in Q1 of IRS 2010.

Maharashtra Times is followed by Loksatta. The Marathi daily has seen growth of 5.3% in Q2 of IRS 2010. The paper now has AIR of 6, 53,000. In Q1 of IRS 2010 Loksatta had AIR of 6, 20,000.

At No. 3 is Navakal with 5, 94,000 readers. The paper has lost 12000 readers in Q2 of IRS 2010. In Q1 of IRS 2010 paper had AIR of 6, 06,000.

Saamana, the mouthpiece of Shiv Sena has recorded AIR of 3, 28,000. The paper has registered growth of 11.2%. In Q1 of IRS 2010 Saamana had AIR of 2, 95,000.

Aapala Vartihar has seen growth of 12.2% in its AIR. The paper has gained 18,000 readers in Q2 IRS 2010. The paper has 1,65,000.

Average Issue Readership (AIR) of a publication is defined as the number of readers of that publication who have claimed to have last read it within periodicity – i.e. last read a daily yesterday, a weekly within the last week, a monthly within the last month, etc.

This measure is considered to be a more relevant measure of ‘real’ or ‘regular’ readership, especially for newspapers, most of which have been read / ‘consumed’ as matter of daily habit. Conventionally, media planners even calculate & compare cost-benefits of dailies based on the AIR figure. And hence it is perhaps most relevant to study readership trends as well in terms of AIR.

Rajat.Arora@BestMediaInfo.com

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