Hindi Media

Rashtriya Sahara's plans for launching Ranchi edition are said to have fallen of the track even before gaining momentum. The group is said to be mulling over ideas for making current editions profitable before venturing into new territories. However there are different voices inside the organisation for and against the launch. Sources have confirmed that the proposed launch may not take place in March and even if the edition comes it will not be before mid of the next year.

The fate of Prabhat Khabar’s new ownership will be decided in a few days. The big newspaper groups in the race — Jagran Prakashan, Dainik Bhaskar, Bennett, Coleman & Co., Amar Ujala and ABP — to buy Prabhat Khabar have apparently bid between Rs 50 crore and Rs 115 crore. Media industry sources say that the UP-based Amar Ujala, owned by Atul Maheshwari and Anil Agrawal, is among the highest bidders. Since the Jhawars of Usha Martin declined comment, the bid estimates are guesstimates and not precise numbers. An executive of one of the bidders says that the paper should not be valued at more than Rs 55-60 crore because the latest readership surveys show the paper trailing behind Hindustan in Jharkhand. With a readership of 10.77 lakh, Hindustan has marched ahead of Prabhat Khabar’s readership of 9.86 lakh. Dainik Jagran with a readership of 7.73 lakh is not far behind. Others point out that Prabhat Khabar’s circulation is still its strong point. Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) figu...

Shuchi Bansal / New Delhi December 09, 2006 Its editor used a novel strategy to completely reinvent it, but what’s ironic is that what began as a search for funds to expand may now result in a change in ownership. Two months ago, the editor of Jharkhand’s leading Hindi daily Prabhat Khabar approached the newspaper’s owners, the Usha Martin group, with a proposal to start new editions in Chhattisgarh and to re-launch the paper in Patna. The reason was simple. Prabhat Khabar had been feeling the heat of competition from rivals such as Hindustan from HT Media Ltd and Dainik Jagran from Kanpur’s Jagran Prakashan Group. Standing still was not an option. The Jhawars who run Usha Martin responded that the newspaper company could sell equity to raise the money for expansion. Harivansh — Prabhat Khabar’s editor of 18 years — was pleased with the reply. Since 1996, the paper had been running on its own steam without financial support from Usha Martin, which is a wire rope and speciality steel ma...

Leading Hindi daily of Jharkhand Prabhat Khabar amidst reports of a buyout by another leading Hindi daily Amar Ujala is all set to revamp its Patna edition. There are plans to increase number of pages from 14 to 20 (16+4). Machines have already arrived in the city. The daily has been striving hard for the second slot in the already crowded market after the launch of Rashtriya Sahara from Patna. Hindustan's Patna edition has already gone for a makeover to preserve its number one position.

DNA Business Bureau Sunday, December 03, 2006 20:07 IST NEW DELHI: Prabhat Khabar, a Hindi daily published from Jharkhand, is expected to finalise a deal for offloading a significant stake by December 15, according to sources. Among those keen to pick up a stake are Bennett Coleman, HT Media, Dainik Bhaskar (one of the promoters of DNA), Dainik Jagran and Amar Ujala. A couple of foreign investors are also in the fray. The potential investors have already put in `non-binding’ bids, sources added. Prabhat Khabar vice-president KK Goenka declined to offer any comments on the proposed deal. But, it is learnt that merchant banker Edelwiess is on the job, to identify the best partner for the newspaper, which requires funds to expand its business and also launch two FM radio stations shortly at Jamshedpur and Ranchi. Recently, Edelweiss had advised Karnataka-based Vijay Times for its deal with The Times of India. Company officials refused to divulge the level of stake that would be offloaded,...