IRS Q2, 2012: Hindustan records biggest gain once more

In another quarter in succession, most of the dailies among the top 10 publications have witnessed a drop in numbers; the rankings remain the same.

The latest top line findings for Indian Readership Survey for the second quarter of 2012 (IRS 2012, Q2) reveal how the top 10 dailies in the country have continued to bleed. In Q1, the dailies had witnessed decline and the latest quarter-on-quarter report shows little improvement. Seven of the 10 dailies have registered drop in readership numbers.

Among the three publications to have gained this quarter are Hindustan, Dainik Jagran and Lokmat. The rankings though continue to remain the same as the previous quarter with Dainik Jagran leading the pack.

Hindustan Media Ventures' Hindi daily, Hindustan like the previous quarter has registered the highest gain, as per AIR - an increase of 48,000 readers. The newspaper has recorded an AIR of 1.22 crore this quarter holding fort at the No. 3 position.

Dainik Jagran that remains the top publication in the country according to its AIR numbers posted a marginal increase in readership, gaining 17,000 readers in Q2 over Q1.

At No. 2 is Dainik Bhaskar with an AIR of 1.44 crore in the latest quarter. Compared to 1.45 crore in the previous quarter, the daily has lost 105,000 readers, one of the sharpest drops in the list.

Malayalam daily Malayala Manorama is at No. 4. Its AIR in the latest quarter stands at 97.10 lakh, a fall of 165,000 readers - the sharpest fall among the top 10 dailies.

Amar Ujala, at No. 5, lost 85,000 readers this quarter with its AIR at 86.08 lakh as against 86.93 lakh in the first quarter.

The Times of India that had posted gains in IRS Q1, 2012 showed a marginal decline losing 9,000 readers. The English daily's AIR this quarter stands at 76.43 lakh. The daily remains at No. 6 among the 10 publications.

Lokmat remains the only Marathi daily among the top 10 publications at No. 7 and the only other daily to have witnessed growth. The daily registered a rise of 22,000 readers in this quarter with an AIR of 75.07 lakh.

The eighth ranked publication is the Tamil newspaper, Daily Thanthi with an AIR of 74.31 lakh in the latest quarter. The daily lost 46,000 readers this quarter.

The ninth and tenth positions continue to be held by Rajasthan Patrika and Mathrubhumi, with their AIR figures at 67.56 lakh and 64.93 lakh, respectively. Rajasthan Patrika lost 51,000 readers in this quarter, while the second Malayalam daily in the list lost a whopping 107,000 readers.