Tabloid Wars

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Hindi print media space will very soon be witness to tabloid war among the major newspaper groups. Dainik Jagran and Amar Ujala are already in the fray with i-next and compact. Dainik Bhaskar after the launch of Patrika from Bhopal has started publication of DB Gold. Ajay Agarwal who broke away from Amar Ujala is now spearheding the assault in the western Uttar Pradesh with his own tabloid DLA. He is all set to enter newer territories including editions from Lucknow and Kanpur. Hindustan and Rajasthan Patrika are the two major groups who have kept away from this war and were busy expanding into newer areas with their broadsheet products. However Hindustan after the launch of i-next from Patna and the proposed launch from Ranchi is mulling over the idea of launching a tabloid, which may be named, Spark.

Dainik Jagran’s tabloid i-next has made its presence felt in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar. At present it is being published simultaneously from Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Allahabad, Agra, Dehradun and Patna. Very soon it will enter Ranchi and an edition from Gorakhpur is in the pipeline. In Ranchi it is expected to add to the fortunes of Dainik Jagran, which has been facing stiff challenge from the present market leaders Prabhat Khabar and Hindustan. Prabhat Khabar is already feeling the heat with 8 of its team members switching their loyalties to the new product from the Jagran stable.

On the other hand, Amra Ujala’s tabloid Compact that followed the launch of i-next in Uttar Pradesh has failed to make an impact in spite of being a nice product. At present it is being published from Agra, Lucknow, Kanpur, and Dehradun. Compact may very well enter the city of nawabs in the near future after the launch of Amar Ujala’s Lucknow edition.

One newspaper group Dainik Bhaskar which is always first to embrace change this time lagged behind and took its time. It was only after the launch of Patrika and Navdunia from Bhopal that it started feeling the heat of competition and to protect its territory launched DB Gold in a hurry. However the product, which looked pale and stale at the time of launch has improved since then. Dainik Bhaskar is all set to take DB Gold to other cities of Madhya Pradesh from where its archrival Patrika is planning to launch new editions. In the coming days Bhaskar may take its tabloid to Rajasthan also.

Hindustan bigwigs are busy assessing the impact of the launch of i-next from Patna. Bihar has remained a stronghold of the Hindi daily from the Hindustan Times group. The group may launch a Hindi tabloid first from Patna and then from other cities to counter the impact. The preparations are already on and it may be named Spark.

Rajasthan Patrika, which is on a high after the successful launch of its Bhopal edition, is all set to launch Indore edition by July. There are no immediate plans from the group for the launch of a tabloid. However it may convert its evening daily daily Newstoday published simultaneously form Jaipur and Indore into a tabloid.

Comments

Anonymous said…
yes, welcome i next in ranchi. deputy editor of prabhat khabar in ranchi ravi prakash n 8 of his collegous are allready joined i next. hope i next will success in ranchi.

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