Hindi Media

Reports coming in from different sources say that Zee group is all set to take over India leading Hindi daily Amar Ujala. The deal size is said to be worth 1100 crore rupees. Zee is expected to inform BSE about the deal on Wenesday. Rajul Maheshwari will remain director till December 31 and Sunil Mutreja will act as CEO of Amar Ujala after take over by Zee. Amar Ujala is 4th largest Hindi daily in India as per Indian Readership Survey (IRS) behind Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar and Hindustan and ahead of Rajasthan Patrika. It is assumed that if the take over takes place  war between leading regional players in Hindi belt will resume. In India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh Amar Ujala is in direct competition with the market leader and world's largest read daily Dainik Jagran. In western UP there is close fight between the two while Jagran has a clear edge in eastern and central UP. In Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir Amar Ujala is the market le...

hindimedia1@gmail.com So after Delhi now its turn of Mumbai. The financial capital of India is going to witness a turf war among new and old players of Hindi media. On 22nd May Metro Daily News India Private Limited will launch its 24 page tabloid Metro7Days. The new player has plans to launch 14 editions from different cities. The daily will be priced at 2/-. Another player waiting in the wings is Lokmat Samachar. After launching its Jalgaon edition on May 15 it plans to enter Pune and subsequently Mumbai. Lokmat group which publishes leading Marathi daily Lokmat and Lokmat Times in English seems to have grandiose plans for its Hindi newspaper. Group editor of the Lokmat Samachar Girish Mishra has already been transferred to Pune from where he is supposed to give final shapes to his strategy of taking the newspaper to Mumbai. At present there are four editions of Lokmat Samachar which will go up to seven after the launch of three more ediions. It is interesting to note that the leader...

Courtesy: livemint.com Anushree Chandran, anushree.m@livemint.com Living Media India Ltd, which publishes print titles such as India Today, Cosmopolitan and Harper’s Bazaar, among others, is set to launch a Hindi broadsheet Aaj Tak in the next six months. The group operates a Hindi news channel by the same name which is over 10 years old. The group has also set its sights on the southern market. It is gearing up to launch a Malayalam daily that would compete with Malayala Manorama and Mathrubhumi in the Kerala market. A team is already working on the project. A Gujarati news magazine (separate from India Today in Gujarati) is also on the cards. While a senior India Today executive confirmed these developments on condition of anonymity, Ashish Bagga, CEO, Living Media, said there was nothing in the offing immediately. He declined to elaborate further. The Malayalam paper and the Gujarati magazine will be published under the newly created corporate entity under Prabhu Chawla, former edit...

Courtsey: www.exchange4media.com With a presence in six states in the country and 25 editions nationwide, the Patrika Group is looking for further expansions in 2010. This apart, the Group is actively working in various other domains as well, such as web, mobile, and outdoor. Siddharth Kothari, Additional MD and Arvind Kalia, National Marketing Head, share Patrika Group’s future plans with exchange4media. With the launch of ‘Just Bhopal’, ‘Its Indore’, and ‘Just Jabalpur’ daily supplements, the Patrika Group has sought to rejuvenate its readers with its way of presentation. The Group provides a variety of content to young readers with Daily News and News Today newspaper. Speaking on the various initiatives undertaken by the Group, Kothari said, “In the year 2009, Patrika has grown from strength to strength through qualitative journalism and local endorsement. Whether it is ‘Just Bhopal’, ‘Its Indore’ or ‘Nano Patrika’ in Jabalpur, Patrika’s connect with the local people and youth has h...

The Hindi daily, People's Samachar, is all set to expand its footprint beyond Madhya Pradesh. In the first half of 2010, the group will launch two editions - Raipur and Bilaspur - from Chattisgarh. The newspaper will have printing locations at both the places; and the machinery for this has already been procured. The Raipur edition is expected to roll out by April 2010; whereas the Bilaspur edition would come in May or June. The newspaper, which was launched in February, already has four editions: Indore, Jabalpur, Gwalior and Bhopal - the first edition launched by the group. People's Samachar is part of the Rs 1,500-crore, Bhopal-based People's Group, which has business interests in various sectors, including educational institutes, hospitals, hotels, real estate and media and entertainment. Suresh N Vijaywargia is the chairman of the group. The daily is positioned as 'Naya Zamana, Naya Akhbar' (new era, new newspaper). Its target audience includes chief wage earn...

Rajasthan Patrika is all set to expand its footprint across MP. Jabalpur edition will soon be launched where it may face another new entrant in the form of People's Samachar. Haribhoomi, Raj Express, Nai Dunia and Dainik Bhaskar are already present there. Usha Srivastava from Delhi bureau of the Patrika was asked to join as resident editor of the new edition. However she put down her papers and went on to join Amar Ujala. The search is on for a someone else to takeover the reigns.

Rajasthan Patrika group has launched its third edition from Madhya Pradesh. Patrika has finally set its foot on the land of Mahakaal ie Ujjain next in line is Jabalpur. Siddharth Bhatt has taken over as editorial incharge of Ujjain.

DB Star tabloid from Dainik Bhaskar has entered Rajasthan. After Bhopal its second edition has been launched from Jodhpur. At present it is being circulated free of cost with Dainik Bhaskar. With the launch of DB Star a new price war has begun among the market leaders. Bhaskar and Rajasthan Patrika both have brought down the cover price of city edition to Rs 1.75.

Market is showing signs of improvement and thus media industry is also trying to get out of the slumber of past few months. Restructuring excercise in major media houses is almost over. Now's the time for expansion or finding new ways to hold on the existing territory. Patrika and Bhaskar have almost completed this excercise in Rajasthan. Sources say now Patrika may now look towards expansion in Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh. Gwalior and Raipur editions are said to be in the pipeline. People's group has set 31 July as the launch date of its Indore edition. Jabalpur may follow afterwards. Dainik Jagran has already launched its national edition. I-next from the same group is looking towards launching Noida and Gurgaon editions. Hindustan has almost completed the recruitment for its upcoming Bareli edition and Gorakhpur will follow afterwards. Prabhat Khabar has relaunched its Patna edition and is now looking towards improving its existing editions in Jharkhand. Smaller players l...

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...

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...

The Rajasthan Patrika Group launched its Hindi daily Patrika in Bhopal on May 25. The daily has been priced at Rs 1.50. The Group is present in six states – Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal – offering a bouquet of publications like Rajasthan Patrika, Patrika, Daily News, and evening newspaper News Today. The Group has embarked on an extensive branding exercise for Patrika’s launch in Bhopal comprising a two-tiered campaign at prominent locations in the city, radio spots, cinema slides at cineplexes, canopies, camel road shows, banners and vehicle branding, motorbike rallies, and direct contact activities. Arvind Kalia, National Head-Marketing, Rajasthan Patrika, claimed, “Patrika on its first day did a circulation of close to 1.20 lakh copies in Bhopal and nearby areas.” He further said, “Special magazines would be given with Patrika – ‘Parivaar’ on Wednesdays, ‘Bollywood’ on Saturdays, and ‘Hum Log’ on Sundays. Besides these three magazines, we...

Feeling the heat after the launch of Patrika's Bhopal edition Dainik Bhaskar has launched a tabloid from the city DB Star. The launch comes a day after Patrika's Bhopal edition hit the stands. The tabloid is available free to the readers of the daily and is priced Re 1 for others. On the other hand Patrika will soon launch Indore and Gwalior editions. The number two player in Bhopal Raj Express is said to have lost circuation to the tune of 10,000 copies after the launch of Patrika.

After long wait and amid speculations regarding launch date Patrika has finally stepped into Madhya Pradesh. This will be first time outside Rajasthan when two arch rivals of Hindi print media space Rajasthan Patrika and Dainik Bhaskar will be face to face. Madhya Pradesh is the home turf of Dainik Bhaskar and it has rivalled Patrika when it entered Rajasthan more than a decade ago. Other players in the Bhopal market are Navdunia, Dainik Jagran, Navbharat and Raj Express. Smaller players may lose in the battle royal. Rajasthan Patrika's Managing Director and Editor Gulab Kothari in a special editorial has not only hit out at his newspaper's arch rival for bringing down the standard of journalism in Madhya Pradesh but also promised readers of Madhya Pradesh a new dawn.

This article appeared first at www.agencyfaqs.com 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...

Rajasthan Patrika's Bhopal edition will now see the light of day somewhere only in the end of May. The launch has been once again delayed due to logistical reasons.

Now it's official Rajasthan Patrika's Bhopal edition will be launched on 15 May. Hectic preparations are on for the launch. Dinesh Ramawat will be editorial-in-charge. He is credited with the launch of Patrika's Kolkata edition and 'Daily News' in Jaipur. Preparations are already underway for another edition of Patrika in Madhya Pradesh ie. from Indore. The launch of Bhopal edition will see Rajasthan Patrika challenging its main rival Dainik Bhaskar in its home turf. Till now they both have been engaged in a bitter fight for market share in Rajasthan. Another Madhya Pradesh based daily Nai Dunia with the launch Navdunia from Bhopal has already sonded the bugle.

The Media Research Users’ Council (MRUC) has released the data for the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2008 Round 1. There aren’t any surprises in the numbers this time as well. The top 10 Hindi dailies see Dainik Jagran topping the charts again with a total readership of 566 lakh. Dainik Bhaskar follows with a total readership of 319 lakh. Amar Ujala is at No. 3 with a total readership of 296 lakh; Hindustan is on the fourth spot with a total readership of 252 lakh, and Rajasthan Patrika is at No. 5 with a total readership of 137 lakh. Punjab Kesari, with a total readership of 111 lakh, is in the sixth position, followed by Aj at No. 7 with a total readership of 74 lakh. Navbharat Times shares the eighth position with Navabharat (Mah/Chh), both having a total readership of 52 lakh. Prabhat Khabar is at No. 10 with a total readership of 50 lakh. The top 10 English dailies see The Times of India lead the charge with a total readership of 136 lakh for all its editions put together. The Hi...

Hindi newspaper space is getting more and more crowded with each passing day. Hindustan is slated to launch three more editions from Chandigarh, Allahabad and Dehradun . Sources in Allahabad say the preparations are on and edition will be launched sometime in May. Amar Ujala is said to be eyeing Bhopal. Madhya Pradesh based Hindi daily Raj Express is getting ready for the launch of Jabalpur and Gwalior editions as well as Hindi news channel in the month of July. Indore based Hindi newspaper Nai Dunia is all set to revamp its Bhopal edition and give it a new look. After its initial success in Jaipur Rajasthan Patrika is preparing to launch another edition of Daily News from Bhopal. Dainik Jagran is busy working out the nitty and gritty of launching three more editions of its tabloid I-next from Gorakhpur , Patna and Ranchi . The rumour mills in Jaipur suggest that the city may see the launch of I-next first and Dainik Jagran later. The talks of a possible tie-up between Ja...