1 Marketing Research On Newspapers PROJECT DONE BY STUDENTS OF USHA PRAVIN GANDHI COLLEGE OF MANAGEMENT TYBMS DIV ‘A’ 2 INDEX 1. INTRODUCTION OF NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY 5 2. HISTORY OF TIMES OF INDIA 10 3. CRITISISM ON TIMES OF INDIA 11 4. INTRODUCTION ON DNA 13 5. COMPETITION BETWEEN TIMES OF INDIA AND DNA 16 6. INTRODUCTION ON HINDUSTAN TIMES 18 7. MARKET SHARE OF TIMES OF INDIA 21 8. 4 P’S OF TIMES OF INDIA 22 9. MARKETING STRATEGY 23 10. SURVEY 27 11. SWOT ANALYSIS 41 12. FUTURE OF NEWSPAPER 44 3 4 INTRODUCTION TO THE NEWS PAPER INDUSTRY MARKET RESEARCH NEWSPAPER The newspaper industry has traditionally functioned as a free press in India. The freedom of expression and independence for print media has been ensured in the Indian constitution and the newspapers zealously guard this independence. The Gujarati Daily Bombay Samachar, started in 1822 AD, is the oldest existing newspaper in Asia. The findings of the National Readership Survey (NRS) 2005 show that India's print media readership base has expanded by 10 per cent over the last two years. Since the last NRS survey in 2004, the print media have acquired 17 million more reader’s .The data may indicate that different media need not necessarily substitute one another. According to the NRS estimates, India's vast media industry reaches 180 million readers, 383.6 million television viewers, 189 million radio listeners and six million Internet users. Despite the growth in readership, a majority of India's 428 million literate adults do not read any periodical publication. 5 Besides India's vast illiterate adult population (252.5 million), there are 248 million literate adults who are unexposed to newspapers and to the 180 million who do read publications. Readers from nearly six lakh villages make magazines, in comparison up only 48 per cent of the readership base, although rural India is home to 62,6 per cent of the country's literate population. This could be due to the urban-centric nature of most publications, which may not cater to the interests of rural residents. THE LITERACY LEVEL IS UP.... 2001(in 2004(in % Change crore) crore) Population 70.0 71.6 2.28 (12+) Literate 42.2 44.8 5.21 Population SSC & above 13.6 15.1 11.03 .... BUT THE NUMBER OF CASUAL READERS 2001 (in crore) 2005 (crore) % Change Any 23.4 23.7 1.28 publication 6 Any Daily 22.0 22.6 2.7 Any Magazine 11.7 9.5 (18.8) .... AND REGULAR READERS ISNT 2001 (in crore) 2005 (in crore) % Change Any 16.0 15.8 (1.25) publication Any Daily 14.2 14.5 2.11 Any Magazine 7.3 5.8 (20.5) INDIA'S TOP FOUR ENGLISH (change this bcoz v comparing TOI HT N DNA) 7 Slice 4 0% 2003 2005 31% 35% 2004 34% 2003 2004 2005 TOI 5388 5950 6220 The Hindu 2973 2678 2980 Hindustan 2325 2316 Times 2250 Deccan 790 962 1165 Chronicle 8 According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers' study, Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2004-2008, the Indian newspaper market will grow from $1,869 million in 2004 to $2,404 million in 2008 at a CAGR of 6.9 per cent. The government had changed its media policy in 2002 and relaxed foreign ownership restrictions in the newspaper category. Today, 26 per cent foreign equity holding in news- related print media is allowed, though editorial management must remain Indian. History of Times of India 9 TOI was founded on November 3, 1838 as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce, and served the British residents of western India. It adopted its present name in 1861. Published on every Saturdays and Wednesdays "Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce" was launched as a bi weekly editions. It contained news of Europe, America and the sub-continent and was conveyed between India and Europe via regular steam ships. The daily editions of the paper were started from 1850 and by 1861 Bombay Times was renamed as "The Times of India". By 19th century this news paper company employed more than 800 people and had good circulation in India and Europe. Originally British owned and controlled, its last British editor was Ivor S. Jehu, who resigned the editorship in 1950. It is published by India's largest media group, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. This company, along with its other group companies are more popularly known as The Times Group, which also publishes The Economic Times (a leading financial broadsheet), Mumbai Mirror, the Navbharat Times(a Hindi daily broadsheet), and the Maharashtra Times (a Marathi daily broadsheet). CRITICISMS OF TOI 10 The modelling of sections of the newspaper upon fashion tabloids is a case in point. The group has also been attacked by other media houses in India for its management interference in editorial policy and the policy of selling paid news. The Time Group has drawn some amount of flak for a scheme called "medianet", which other firms can use to purchase editorial coverage in the daily. The ethical problems for the group have been further compounded by allegations of extortion by a journalist employed by the group. The newspaper has at times been panned for its unabashed promotion of inhouse brands owned by its parent company, M/s Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd, (such as Femina, Radio Mirchi, Planet M, Times Music). The newspaper has also been accused of overly sensationalizing news stories. An infamous example being the Rift in powerful biz family article, which detailed a rift within the Ambani family. Interestingly, the newspaper was the first to break the news six months before the feud became public knowledge. Their new Mumbai Mirror, an unabashed tabloid parading as a newspaper, is one of today's finest examples of the increasing tendency to glorify sleaze even when real news is available. 11 Though the Times has traditionally tried to portray an image of political neutrality, it has been by and large viewed as a pro-Establishment paper. It tends to vary in its support between the BJP and Congress Party, depending on who holds the reins of the Central Government. Its whole-hearted approval of Indira Gandhi's excessive repression measures during the internal Emergency in the 1970s is not lost on political observers. Since the 80's and early 90's, the Times of India has consistently produced some of the country's finest journalists. INTRODUCTION FOR DNA 12 DNA, the second major newspaper launched in the Indian city of Mumbai in 2005, is an initiative of the Bhaskar Group of Publications, better known for the Dainik Bhaskar - a Hindi language newspaper popular in the central and northern states of India. It is also counted as one of the top five most- read newspapers in the country. Daily News and Analysis was launched on July 30, 2005, after a much-talked about advertising campaign that continued for four months. It is notable that it was launched when the city was in the aftermath of the July 26 deluge, which submerged almost all of Mumbai which received 94.4 cm of rain on just one day. DNA has a strong Editorial Board comprising some of the most respected names in Indian media. Starting with Gautam Adhikari, the editor, the Board also has India's leading cricket writer and analyst Ayaz Memon as the paper's Associate Editor. Memon handles the Sunday edition, along with DNA Sport (daily) and the daily entertainment supplement DNA After Hrs. B Venkat Rao, former resident editor of Indian Express (Mumbai) is the other Associate Editor. He handles the daily newspaper's main edition. R Jagannathan is the Business Editor, and is in-charge of DNA Money. 13 Noted film critic and Hindi film director Khalid Mohamed is the Roving Editor, and handles DNA Glory (the glazed entertainment supplement on Fridays) and Lime Lite (the two pages of movie stories and reviews on Sunday. Sidharth Bhatia is the Opinion page Editor, and is also in charge of the two "Edit" pages on Sunday called Viewpoint and Signature. Bipul Guha is the art director, while Vinay Kamat is the Editor for Special Projects. Arati Jerath is the Delhi Bureau Chief, and is also part of the Editorial Board. Sathya Saran handles Me, a weekly women's magazine that is distributed free with the Sunday edition of DNA. Malavika Sangghvi is the person in-charge of Life 360, a travel and lifestyle supplement. Diligent Media Corporation, which owns DNA (Daily News & Analysis), is a joint venture between two industry majors – the Dainik Bhaskar Group and Zee TV. With a reach of more than 120 countries and access to more than 250 million viewers globally, Zee TV has created a strong brand equity and is the largest media franchise serving the South Asian diaspora with presence in major global markets, including Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, the UK, the US, Canada, the Caribbean and Africa. The Group has transformed itself into 14 an integrated media conglomerate with operations spanning the entire media spectrum. The Dainik Bhaskar Group has soared to the top of the print media industry in India with its flagship Hindi daily, Dainik Bhaskar (India’s No. 1 Daily Hindi Newspaper), and the Gujarati frontrunner, Divya Bhaskar. While Dainik Bhaskar has a big presence in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chhatisgarh and Uttar Pradesh, Divya Bhaskar is the largest circulated regional daily in Gujarat. Targeted at a young readership, DNA is the voice and soul of Mumbai. Through news, views, analyses and interactivity, DNA provides readers with a composite picture of Mumbai and the world.