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Dhaleta Surender Kumar | afaqs! | New Delhi, May 20, 2008
Bhaskar will be facing heat on its own turf in Bhopal this summer, with two new Hindi newspapers giving it a run for its money. While the NaiDunia Media Group’s NavDunia was launched last month, Patrika will be launched on May 29.
Patrika is actually Rajasthan Patrika, which has dropped ‘Rajasthan’ from its name because Bhopal is in Madhya Pradesh. According to sources at Rajasthan Patrika, Patrika’s initial print run in Bhopal will be 145,000 copies. NavDunia claims to target a circulation of 150,000 copies in the first quarter after its launch.
However, according to the ABC figures for July-December 2007, the leader in the Bhopal market, Dainik Bhaskar, has an average paid circulation of 106,105 in Bhopal city.
“The gap between the No. 1 (Dainik Bhaskar) and No. 2 (Raj Express) in Bhopal is huge. We see a lot of potential in the market,” says an official from Rajasthan Patrika.
According to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS 2008, Round 1), Dainik Bhaskar has a readership of 320,000 in Bhopal. Raj Express has a readership of 119,000. At No. 3 is Dainik Jagran with 78,000 readers. At No. 4 and No. 5 are Nava Bharat and NaiDunia (Indore edition) with readership of 21,000 and 5,000, respectively.
Raj Express claims to have a circulation of 72,000 in Bhopal. Officials at Raj Express declined to comment on the development.
Rajasthan Patrika has editions in Ahmedabad, Surat, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hubli and Chennai in addition to 12 editions in its home state, Rajasthan.
While its editions outside Rajasthan are targeted at the Marwari community, Patrika is all set to give a local flavour to the paper in Bhopal. Its tagline in the city will be: ‘Hum Hain Bhopal Ki Awaaz’.
The officials refused to reveal the cover price of the paper. While Dainik Bhaskar sells at a cover price of Rs 3 on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, and at a cover price of Rs 2.50 on other days, NavDunia was launched at an introductory price of Rs 1.50.
Vinay Chhajlani, chief executive officer and director, NaiDunia Media, says, “The heat will be more on Dainik Bhaskar than on us, with two strong players (NavDunia and Rajasthan Patrika) coming in.”
However, Sanjeev Kotnala, associate vice-president and national head, Dainik Bhaskar Corp., seems unperturbed. “We welcome any competition in the market. We have confidence in our product and we continuously keep innovating and meeting the needs of the readers,” he says.
Dhaleta Surender Kumar | afaqs! | New Delhi, May 20, 2008
Bhaskar will be facing heat on its own turf in Bhopal this summer, with two new Hindi newspapers giving it a run for its money. While the NaiDunia Media Group’s NavDunia was launched last month, Patrika will be launched on May 29.
Patrika is actually Rajasthan Patrika, which has dropped ‘Rajasthan’ from its name because Bhopal is in Madhya Pradesh. According to sources at Rajasthan Patrika, Patrika’s initial print run in Bhopal will be 145,000 copies. NavDunia claims to target a circulation of 150,000 copies in the first quarter after its launch.
However, according to the ABC figures for July-December 2007, the leader in the Bhopal market, Dainik Bhaskar, has an average paid circulation of 106,105 in Bhopal city.
“The gap between the No. 1 (Dainik Bhaskar) and No. 2 (Raj Express) in Bhopal is huge. We see a lot of potential in the market,” says an official from Rajasthan Patrika.
According to the Indian Readership Survey (IRS 2008, Round 1), Dainik Bhaskar has a readership of 320,000 in Bhopal. Raj Express has a readership of 119,000. At No. 3 is Dainik Jagran with 78,000 readers. At No. 4 and No. 5 are Nava Bharat and NaiDunia (Indore edition) with readership of 21,000 and 5,000, respectively.
Raj Express claims to have a circulation of 72,000 in Bhopal. Officials at Raj Express declined to comment on the development.
Rajasthan Patrika has editions in Ahmedabad, Surat, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hubli and Chennai in addition to 12 editions in its home state, Rajasthan.
While its editions outside Rajasthan are targeted at the Marwari community, Patrika is all set to give a local flavour to the paper in Bhopal. Its tagline in the city will be: ‘Hum Hain Bhopal Ki Awaaz’.
The officials refused to reveal the cover price of the paper. While Dainik Bhaskar sells at a cover price of Rs 3 on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, and at a cover price of Rs 2.50 on other days, NavDunia was launched at an introductory price of Rs 1.50.
Vinay Chhajlani, chief executive officer and director, NaiDunia Media, says, “The heat will be more on Dainik Bhaskar than on us, with two strong players (NavDunia and Rajasthan Patrika) coming in.”
However, Sanjeev Kotnala, associate vice-president and national head, Dainik Bhaskar Corp., seems unperturbed. “We welcome any competition in the market. We have confidence in our product and we continuously keep innovating and meeting the needs of the readers,” he says.
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