IRS 2010 Q3: Top dailies in Tamil Nadu could not retain readership gained in last quarter

Collectively, the Top 10 dailies of the state have lost 15.73 lakh total readership in the latest quarter.

None of the Top 10 dailies of Tamil Nadu have managed to retain their readership in this quarter. However, since the last one year, three dailies in the state, including Daily Thanthi, Dinakaran and The Times of India, have recorded gains in readership. The three dailies have together added 4.32 lakh readers during this period.

Also, while the Tamil dailies have added 6.14 lakh readers since IRS R2, 2009, English dailies have lost 1.65 lakh readers during this period. In fact, all the Top 10 dailies, except The Times of India, have shown loses in total readership in the state capital.

As per the latest quarter of IRS (IRS Q3, 2010), the No. 1 daily of Tamil Nadu is Daily Thanthi, with total readership of 2.02 crore. The Tamil newspaper has registered a gain of 1.85 lakh readers since IRS R2, 2009. The daily has collectively added 2.41 lakh readers in Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem, Tiruchirapalli, Tiruppur and the rest of TN, excluding Chennai and Puducherry, where the daily has lost 55,000 readers and 7,000 readers respectively during the last one year.

At No. 2 is Dinakaran, which has 36.44 lakh readers less than Daily Thanthi. This time, Dinakaran has recorded total readership of 1.65 crore in the state. The daily has lost readership in Chennai, Tiruchirapalli and Coimbatore since IRS R2, 2009.

The No. 3 position is taken up by Dinamalar, the biggest loser of the state. It has lost 5.48 lakh readers in the last one year. Dinamalar is 74.59 lakh readers behind Dinakaran. The daily has recorded a de-growth of 1.69 lakh readers in Chennai;19,000 in Salem; 20,000 in Tiruchirapalli; and 4.37 lakh in the rest of TN, except Tiruppur, Puducherry, Madurai and Coimbatore, where it has added readership.

The Hindu has climbed one step up the ladder and is now at No. 4, as opposed to the fifth position it had in the last quarter. The daily has total readership of 26.02 lakh - registering a loss of about 95,000 readers since the previous quarter. However, the daily had added 43,000 readers in the last quarter and 17,000 readers in IRS Q1, 2010.

Pushed to the No. 5 spot is Malai Malar, with total readership of 25.32 lakh. It has lost 2.17 lakh readers since the last quarter. The daily has lost readership in Chennai (81,000 readers), Madurai (8,000 TR), Puducherry (14,000 TR), Salem (10,000 TR), Tiruchirapalli (5,000 TR) and added in Coimbatore (4,000 TR) and Tiruppur (11,000 TR) since IRS R2, 2009.

Dinamani is again at the No. 6 position, with total readership of 20.10 lakh. The newspaper has lost 1.95 lakh readers in the last one year. Dinamani has registered a decline of 46,000 in total readership in Chennai; 23,000 readers in Coimbatore; 11,000 readers in Madurai; 9,000 in Puducherry; 14,000 in Tiruchirapalli; and 1,000 in Tiruppur in the last one year. The only centre where it has recorded a marginal growth is Salem.

At No. 7 is another Tamil daily, Tamizh Murasu, which has registered a loss of 2.86 lakh readers since IRS R2, 2009. It has total readership of 9.19 lakh in this quarter. In the last one year, the newspaper has lost readership in almost all the reporting centres of TN, with the exception of Tiruppur, where it has recorded a marginal gain of 4,000 readers.

The No. 8, No. 9 and No. 10 positions in the state are taken up by English dailies Deccan Chronicle, The New Indian Express and The Times of India, respectively. While Deccan Chronicle has total readership of 8.38 lakh, The New Indian Express has registered TR of 5.07 lakh and TOI has recorded TR of 3.81 lakh in this quarter.

Of the three English dailies, Deccan Chronicle and The New Indian Express have registered declines of 1.71 lakh and 19,000 respectively; only TOI has added readership in the last one year. TOI has recorded a gain of 15,000 readers during this period.