Hindi Media

Press Release Chennai, June 16, 2008: Dainik Bhaskar announced today that it has signed on MS Dhoni as its brand ambassador. Rajiv Jaitly, President, Ad Sales & Marketing, said, "These are exciting times for 'Bhaskar' as the brand continues its growth across markets. With its geographical spread covering the newly emerged markets of India in tier-II and tier-III towns, Dainik Bhaskar was seeking a personality or icon who would best project the ethos and core of the brand to its various stakeholders. In Dhoni, we have managed to find a near perfect fit. He is a shining real life example of what an ambitious individual can do; he oozes a high degree of confidence, adapts to new situations very fast, has demonstrated innovative thinking and more importantly, has shown how the relentless pursuit of excellence can make a person from a small town emerge a champion." Adds Rajiv Jaitly, "Dhoni has an attitude towards the game similar to what we have toward publishin

This news appeared first at www.exchange4media.com The Hindi heartland is witness to an intensifying print battle. Bhopal has emerged as the latest battlefield for readership with NavDunia from NaiDunia Group, Patrika from Rajasthan Patrika, and now DB Star from Bhaskar launching in quick succession. Following the Bhopal launch, DB Star is eyeing an Indore launch. This would be followed by forays into markets like Amritsar, Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Raipur, Bilaspur, Jaipur and Jodhpur. DB Star is the fifth title from DB Corp, which calls it the ‘general entertainment channel’ of newspapers. The other brands from DB Corp include Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar, DNA and the forthcoming Business Bhaskar. Sanjeev Kotnala, AVP & National Head, Communication, DB Corp, explained, “Readers’ tastes are changing and their expanse along with the hunger for news itself is being accentuated. DB Star captures this latent unserviced need of a reader in Tier II towns. DB Star is a result of

hindimedia1@gmail.com 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, Luck

This news appeared first at www.afaqs.com Hindi daily Amar Ujala is all set to launch its 18th edition overall and its 11th edition in Uttar Pradesh (UP) in Lucknow in the last week of June. According to market sources, the edition will cover eight other districts of UP in addition to Lucknow: Raibareli, Lakhimpur Kheri, Gonda, Sitapur, Barabanki, Bahraich, Faizabad and Sultanpur. In Lucknow, Amar Ujala will fight it out with the current market leader, Dainik Jagran, which has a circulation of 200,789 copies as per the ABC figures for July-December 2007. According to company insiders in Lucknow, Amar Ujala hopes to be No. 1 in Lucknow from day one – it has more than 210,000 confirmed subscriptions already. The daily will have a cover price of Rs 3.50, at par with Dainik Jagran. HT Media’s Hindustan (with a cover price of Rs 3/ 3.50) is also a strong competitor. As per ABC figures for July-December 2007, Hindustan’s Lucknow edition – also printed from Varanasi and Kanpur – has a circul

Alok Mehta editor Outlook Hindi is said to be joining Navdunia's proposed Delhi edition. Navdunia is the new Hindi daily launched by Indore based Nai Dunia group. On the other hand Raj Express is slated to launch Jabalpur edition to expand its presence in Madhya Pradesh. At present it has editions from Bhopal and Indore. Another Hindi newspaper having strong presence in Haryana and Chattisgarh is all set to launch an edition from Jabalpur.

This news appeared first at www.exchange4media.com © exchange4media 2008 The Hindi newspaper space is becoming exciting and competitive. While on the one hand, existing players are venturing into newer markets, new players are also entering the fray. The increasing competition is resulting in an inevitable price war. The latest to witness a price war is Dehradun, Uttarakhand, where Amar Ujala, Dainik Jagran and Hindustan have reduced their rates by Re 1. While Amar Ujala and Dainik Jagran reduced their rates from Rs 3 to Rs 2 from June 6 onwards, Hindustan followed a day later, reducing its rate also from Rs 3 to Rs 2. Giving the reason for reducing the rate, Sunil Mutreja, President-Marketing, Amar Ujala, said, “It is an attempt to expand the market and increase print penetration in Uttarakhand. Dehradun today has a circulation of 77-80 lakh publications in all, and has the potential for the circulation to go up to 150 lakh. Amar Ujala will benefit the best with the price cut as we ar

http://www.campaignindia.in/ DB Corp has launched its new daily in Bhopal, DB Star. DB Star has been launched as a compact format colour newspaper and will have an initial print run of over 1 lakh copies. This is the fifth title from the publishing group. The daily will soon be launched in Indore followed by other cities where Bhaskar is present. Rajiv Jaitly, president, ad sales and marketing, DB Corp, “DB STAR is an extension of The Bhaskar group’s continuous efforts to create well researched products that satisfy the needs of its readers. Over the last couple of years, Indian consumers have been in consumption overdrive. DB STAR addresses this spurt in consumption and covers topics such as features on travel, entertainment, sports, personal and professional grooming and glamour in addition detailed entertainment listing of the city to local happenings and issues of wider interest.” Recently, the Rajasthan Patrika Group also launched its Hindi daily Patrika in Bhopal. The daily has b