TOI to launch an edition from Nashik

The edition will be launched in phases, with Nashik Times being introduced first in the city.

The Bennett Coleman & Company (BCCL) is gearing up to launch a full-fledged edition from Nashik soon. According to sources close to the development, the group will enter Nashik in a phased manner -- it will first launch Nashik Times, a city-centric lifestyle and entertainment pullout, in October this year, and then the main edition after understanding the market better.

As of now, readers in Nashik get the Mumbai edition of The Times of India (TOI), which reaches Nashik through its Mumbai centre, where it is printed and published.

As per industry estimates, all newspapers put together in the city generate an advertising revenue worth Rs 1 crore every month.

Sources also add that unlike Indore, where it tied up with NaiDunia Group, a local publication, in order to use its printing facility in Madhya Pradesh, it is as of now looking for a place to set up its printing facility in the outskirts of the city. "It will help cater to the adjoining cities and towns as well in the future," adds the source.

The Marathi newspapers published in the city include Daily Sakal, Deshdoot, Lokmat, Punya Nagari and the recently launched Divya Marathi, and the English dailies available here include the Mumbai edition of the TOI, The Indian Express, the Free Press Journal, and the Asian Age.

As per Q1 IRS, 2011, the total readership of English dailies across Nashik stood at 88,000, with the TOI leading the pack with a total readership of 77,000 copies. The gap between the most preferred English daily in the city and the second most read daily (The Indian Express) was 69,000 copies during the quarter.

Nashik, which is also known as the wine capital of India, is a supplier of onions, grapes and rice across the country, apart from having a textile base at Malegaon. Nashik has an average literacy rate of 74 per cent, with male literacy being 80 per cent and female literacy at 66 per cent.