Hindi Media

The proposed editions of Rashtriya Sahara from Kanpur and Varanasi are getting delayed day by day. Even after finalisation of logistics and other details there has been very little progress. The daily has planned launching of Patna, Kanpur and Varanasi editions simultaneously. Only Patna edition from the group has seen the llight of the day and the other two editions are still waiting in the offing. Battle for ad revenues and circulation is becoming tougher by the day in Kanpur with Hindustan moving in after launching editions from Meerut and Agra. On the hand Dainik Jagran to protect its territory has already launched another morninger from Kanpur and Lucknow. Amar Ujala is also having plans of launching an edition from Lucknow but that may realise only after the launch of Gorakhpur and Aligarh editions form the group.

Sources in TOI say The Times of India will launch three editions from Jaipur, Jodhpur and Udaipur respectively within next 2-3 months. These editions will be published in the printing facilites of Rajasthan Patrika. The deal between TOI and Patrika was to come in November but delayed due to certain reasons.

To enter Rajasthan, Bennett, Coleman & Co is setting up a joint venture company with the Jaipur-based Rajasthan Patrika, the Kotharis-owned newspaper company that publishes the leading Hindi daily Rajasthan Patrika in the state. Though the details of the joint venture are not available, media industry sources said the new company will print, market and distribute The Times of india in Rajasthan. Though newspaper readers in Rajasthan prefer to read Hindi dailies, The Times of india hopes to create a market for its English brand by riding piggyback on ‘Rajasthan Patrika’s’ distribution reach. in turn, media experts said, ‘Rajasthan Patrika’ will gain from the combined advertising sales that Bennett, Coleman will do for both The Times of india and Rajasthan Patrika. Bennett, Coleman’s Executive Director Ravi Dhariwal, however, refused to comment on the deal with ‘Rajasthan Patrika’. “i do not want to comment on speculation. When there is something, we will announce it,” he said. When ...

Lokmat group publisher of popular Marathi daily Lokmat and English daily Lokmat Times is pondering over the idea of launching three new editions of its Hindi daily Lokmat Samachar. Noted journalist Madhukar Upadhyay after a stint with Press Trust of India is now with Lokmat Samachar and is said to be the brain behind new manouveres from the group in Hindi print media space. In the past Lokamt Samachar has been witness to price war from Navbharat. In its stronghold Nagpur the newspaper faces competition from Navbharat as well as Dainik Bhaskar. At present there are four editions of Lokmat Samachar. The group's expansion plans may take it to Chattisgarh. Maharashtra based Navbharat is also busy charting out future expansion plans. It is planning to have three new editions from Bhbaneshwar, Kolkata and Ranchi apart from venturing into FM radio space. However there has been little progress on these fronts since the news last came in.

Shuchi Bansal / New Delhi December 29, 2006 Access to funds, shift in ad spends drives growth. Behind the mushrooming of new and parallel Hindi newspaper brands lies the story of a buoyant advertising market in the Hindi-speaking states. Publishers who are launching second titles in the same market see merit, therefore, in segmenting their readers and offering more focused audiences. It is obvious that the understanding of markets and marketing has reached new levels in Hindi publishing. The Hindi papers’ advertising cake is estimated to be Rs 1,500 crore, and growing at an average of about 19 per cent a year. But like all averages, that hides the high and low points. Rajasthan Patrika’s marketing head, Arvind Kalia, claims, for instance, that Rajasthan is experiencing an exceptional 50 per cent growth in advertising. Advertisers have evidently realised that product consumption in markets like Jaipur is going up. “The theory of a regional market boom is now a reality and it is getting ...

Amar Ujala - Prabhat Khabar deal which seemed to be through is now in limbo. The rumour of the deal not going through has gained credence with group editor of Prabhat Khabar Harivansh during his recent visit to Patna insisting on his team to reduce costs. If the deal is not through then Prabhat Khabar may find itself in turbulent waters and expansion plans may have to be shelved.

Shuchi Bansal Groups launch second brands, new editions. Jagran Prakshan Limited, publisher of Hindi daily Dainik Jagran, has rolled out its second newspaper brand, I-next, in Kanpur and Lucknow. The city-centric, compact-sized daily is targeted at 18 to 35 year olds, priced at Rs 3, and claims a print run of 50,000 copies in each city. Two weeks ago, Rajasthan’s leading newspaper Rajasthan Patrika started Daily News in Jaipur, a Hindi language product with an English brand name. Patrika’s paper is priced at a nominal 50 paise. Meanwhile, newspaper readers in Agra, an Amar Ujala stronghold, may soon find an afternoon daily in the city. Ajai Agarwal, the Agra-based former partner in Amar Ujala (he sold his stake to the Meerut-based majority owners of the paper recently), is now planning a paper for the afternoon slot. In the action-packed Hindi newspaper market, the entrenched players are starting second brands, while others are expanding through new editions. There are unconfirmed repo...