अंग्रेजी अख़बारों में भी खुद को श्रेष्ठ साबित करने की होड़

रीडरशिप सर्वे के नतीजों को अपने हिसाब से तोड़-मरोड़ कर पेश करने और अपनी पीठ थपथपाने में सिर्फ़ हिंदी अख़बार ही नहीं जुटे हैं। अंग्रेजी अख़बारों का भी यही हाल है। टाइम्स ऑफ इंडिया ने बताया है कि कैसे बाकी अख़बारों के पाठकों की संख्या में गिरावट दर्ज की गई है लेकिन टाइम्स ऑफ इंडिया का ग्राफ लगातार बढ़ रहा है।

डीएनए का दावा है कि मुंबई में टाइम्स ऑफ इंडिया, हिंदुस्तान टाइम्स और मुंबई मिरर समेत सभी अख़बारों के पाठकों की संख्या में चार से नौ फीसदी की गिरावट हुई है। जबकि डीएनए अकेला ऐसा अख़बार है जिसमें साल-दर-साल के हिसाब से बढ़त देखी गई है।

सबसे मजेदार तो हिंदुस्तान टाइम्स का ब्योरा है। रीडरशिप सर्वे के मुताबिक उसके पाठकों की संख्या कम हुई है। लेकिन उसने उम्र के सेगमेंट के हिसाब से यह साबित करने की कोशिश की है कि उसका असर बढ़ा है।

आप भी इन सभी के तर्कों पर एक नज़र डालिए।

Hindustan Times

HT only choice for 14 lakh Delhiites

More Delhiites reach out for the Hindustan Times as their only paper of choice every morning than for any other paper. Latest figures published on Monday by the Indian Readership Survey (IRS R2 ‘09) for the one-year period until June 2009 show that the Hindustan Times continues to be the paper of choice for nearly 14 lakh solus readers.
HT is also the only major paper to have grown in Readership (AIR) in Delhi over the past two years and the latest figures show readership increases in the 20-29 age group as well as the more discerning 40+ group.

Reader-focused editorial campaigns and other initiatives in this period targeted at people between the ages of 20 and 29 — including the relaunch of HT City and HT Horizons, as well as campaigns such as I Love Delhi and the Delhi Shopping Carnival — have resulted in HT’s readership in that segment growing by 30,000 readers.

HT’s growth in the 40+ age group ensures that the paper continues to lead this segment by more than 50,000 over the nearest competitor.
With the relaunch of the overall Hindustan Times paper in July, and the extremely positive response to it, this growth is expected to greatly accelerate.

Times of India
No 1 TOI grows even as others decline

The readers have spoken, and the verdict is clear. The Times of India is the undisputed leader in Delhi, recording a rise in readership even as other English-language general interest dailies suffered a decline.

According to results of the second round of the Indian Readership Survey for 2009, unveiled on Monday, TOI’s average issue readership (AIR) in Delhi increased 4%, to 20.25 lakh from 19.54 lakh in the previous round. Hindustan Times declined 3%, from 19.91 lakh to 19.34 lakh, The Hindu shrank from 85,000 to 80,000 and Indian Express from 34,000 to 33,000.

When Noida, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Faridabad are added, TOI stays the NCR market leader, with an AIR of 22.66 lakh, against HT’s 21.41 lakh. Even by the other parameter, of total readership, TOI is No 1, with 28.11 lakh readers to HT’s 27.76 lakh.

The Times Group also continued its dominance of Mumbai, with TOI the overwhelming No 1 among English dailies, with an AIR of 14.61 lakh. The runner-up was another newspaper from the Times Group stable, Mumbai Mirror, with 7.99 lakh readers. The nearest competitor from outside the Times Group, DNA, has an AIR of 6.83 lakh, less than half of TOI’s.

Overall, TOI remained the most read English-language daily in India by a huge margin, growing 4% to post an AIR of 71.42 lakh. This is far more than the No 2 (Hindustan Times, 33.47 lakh, a drop of 4%), No 3 (The Hindu, 21.69 lakh) and No 4 (Deccan Chronicle, 11.52 lakh) put together.

TOI’s sister publication in Delhi, Navbharat Times, remains number one among Hindi dailies. Its AIR has grown by 22,000 readers to touch 15.9 lakh readers in Delhi city and 22.66 lakh in the NCR, even as its closest competitor, Hindi Hindustan, has shrunk by 79,000 readers in Delhi and now lags NBT by over 4 lakh readers.

DNA

DNA is only Mumbai daily to show year-on-year readership growth

DNA has consolidated its position among readers in Mumbai, the latest readership figures show. In a year in which the Indian economy suffered from the roll-on effects of a global meltdown, DNA’s average issue readership (AIR) grew 1.5% year-on-year compared to corresponding figures in 2008. This is largely because of DNA’s loyal and growing reader base in the city of its birth.

According to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS 2009, Round 2), DNA’s AIR now stands at 6,83,000. Every other newspaper in the city saw its readership drop in the range of 4-9%. While The Times of India lost 5.9% of its regular (AIR) readership, Hindustan Times lost 4.4% between IRS 2008 R2 and now. The biggest losses were registered by two city tabloids, Mumbai Mirror, which comes complementary to most readers, and MiD DAY. The two lost 8.5% and 8.8% respectively.
In terms of total readership — which includes regular and not so regular readership as opposed to AIR — DNA’s figures now stand at 12,83,000, making it the clear No 2 among broadsheets in Mumbai. With our sister editions in Pune, Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Surat also reporting steady growth, the IRS 2009 R2 establishes DNA as the seventh largest English newspaper in the country in terms of total readership, with a figure of 15,29,000. This is a growth of 14.4% over IRS 2008 R2, thanks to growing readership in the newer editions. Apart from Mumbai, DNA is now well-established as the No 2 daily in all our editions in terms of AIR.

IRS 2009 R2 also suggests that DNA is growing faster than the competition in the upmarket segments — the key segments courted by advertisers. In SEC A (Socio-economic classification A), DNA’s readership is up 2.3% year-on-year (vs a drop of 11.9% for The Times of India and 26.9% for Hindustan Times). Among male readers, DNA has registered a growth of 5.6% while TOI has dropped 9.9%.
Among readers with monthly household incomes (MHI) of over Rs 20,000, DNA has grown 5.4%, while TOI and Hindustan Times have dropped 23.8% and 37.5% respectively.

In the category of businessmen, industrialists, self-employed professionals, officers and executives, DNA has grown 18% while TOI and HT have dropped 10.5% and 23.1%.

From the time of its launch in July, 2005, DNA has sought to serve its readership and advertisers with constant product innovation. DNA thanks its readers and advertisers for being a part of our growth story.