IRS Q1, 2012: Hindustan continues to be the biggest gainer

Most of the dailies in the top 10 publications list register decline in the latest quarter of IRS, unlike last quarter, as per AIR. However, there is a status quo in the ranking.

The latest quarter of IRS (IRS 2012, Q1) has not been so good for most of the top 10 publications, as per AIR (average issue readership), except for Hindustan, The Times of India (TOI) and Dainik Jagran, which have recorded growth during the quarter.

The Hindi daily from the stable of Hindustan Media Ventures (HMVL), Hindustan, has emerged as the biggest gainer this time, as per AIR - an increase of 1.12 lakh readers. The newspaper has recorded an AIR of 1.2 crore this quarter and continues to be at No. 3 position. The daily had registered a marginal increase in its average issue readership by 12,000 in the previous quarter. The Hindi newspaper has been on a constant growth spree for more than a year now.

The second biggest gainer is The Times of India, with an AIR of 76.52 lakh in the latest quarter - an increase of 36,000 readers. The English daily which continues to be at No. 6 is the only English publication to feature in the top 10 list of publications. The daily had added 1.49 lakh readers in the previous quarter.

Dainik Jagran, the No.1 publication of the country, has also recorded a marginal increase of 2,000 readers. The Hindi daily had lost 48,000 readers in the last quarter of IRS (Q4, 2011).

However, in the quarter before that, the newspaper had recorded a gain of 65,000 average issue readers. The Hindi daily claims an average issue readership (AIR) of 1.64 crore in the current quarter.

Hindi daily Amar Ujala has been the biggest loser this quarter - registering a loss of 1.49 lakh. Amar Ujala has an AIR of 86.93 lakh in the current quarter as opposed to 88.42 lakh in the previous quarter. The daily continues to be at the No. 5 spot. The Hindi daily had registered an increase in its AIR by a marginal 6,000 readers in the previous quarter.

The only Marathi daily to feature amongst the top 10 publications is Lokmat. It has registered a decline in AIR of 77,000 readers. The newspaper is at the No.7 spot and has an AIR of 74.85 lakh in the current quarter. The Marathi daily had displaced Daily Thanthi from No. 7 position in the previous quarter and had recorded an increase of 1.24 lakh readers in Q4, 2011.

The No. 4 spot is taken up by a Malayalam daily, Malayala Manorama, with an AIR of 98.75 lakh - a decline of 62,000 readers this time.

The Tamil newspaper Daily Thanthi has an AIR of 74.77 lakh, a decrease of 26,000 readers this time. The Thanthi is yet to compensate for the loss of about four lakh readers it had incurred in the last two rounds of 2010.

At No. 9 spot, Rajasthan Patrika has lost 40,000 readers. The daily has an AIR of 68.47 lakh in this quarter. The Hindi publication lost readers in the previous quarter as well - a loss of 71,000 readers. Rajasthan Patrika had lost a marginal 23,000 readers in Q3, 2011 and 92,000 readers in Q2, 2011 as well. It is to be noted that the readership figures do not include that of Patrika (the newspaper is published from Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh by this name).

The second Malayalam daily to feature in the top 10 list is Mathrubhumi. The daily has an AIR of 66 lakh readers - a loss of 66,000 readers in the current quarter. The daily had added 36,000 readers in the previous quarter (Q4, 2011) but had lost 60,000 readers in Q3, 2011.

(Total readership includes any reader who has read any of the last six issues; whereas average issue readership includes only readers who have read the last issue.)