IRS Q2, 2012: Six of the top 10 Hindi dailies see drop in readership

Nai Dunia and Dainik Bhaskar register sharpest fall in AIR numbers; Patrika and Hindustan continue to gain.

The top Hindi dailies of the country have had a rough quarter, reveals the Indian Readership Survey (IRS Q2, 2012). Of the top 10 publications, six have registered fall in their average issue readership (AIR) numbers in Q2, 2012; this compared to the previous quarter when the numbers had fallen for only three dailies.

Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh's popular daily, Nai Dunia has been hit the most. Its AIR has fallen by 1,19,000, followed by Dainik Bhaskar that lost 1,05,000 readers quarter-on-quarter.

On the other hand, Prabhat Khabar leads the dailies in the list that have gained readership. It has added 1,84,000 readers this quarter. Other publications to have seen a rise in AIR numbers are Patrika, Hindustan and Dainik Jagran.

The rankings of the 10 Hindi dailies have remained more or less similar to those at the end of the previous quarter. The only change has been Prabhat Khabar, which has displaced Navbharat Times to secure the seventh position.

Dainik Jagran continues its reign as the top Hindi daily of the country. After a rather marginal rise of only 2,000 readers in Q1, 2012 (over Q4, 2011), the newspaper's AIR went up by 17,000 in the latest quarter. At the end of Q2, 2012, Dainik Jagran's AIR stands at 1.64 crore. Since Q2, 2011, the AIR has risen by 36,000.

At No. 2 is Dainik Bhaskar with its latest AIR at 1.44 crore. The newspaper has continued a losing streak since the last three quarters. In Q2, 2012, Dainik Bhaskar lost 1,05,000 readers. Thanks to a strong growth in numbers shown in Q3, 2011, an annual comparison of its latest AIR shows a rise of 2,74,000.

Hindustan Media Ventures' Hindi daily, Hindustan that registered the highest gain in AIR numbers among the top 10 dailies of the country is one of the four in the top 10 Hindi dailies list to have had a good quarter. Ranked No. 3, Hindustan gained 48,000 readers in the latest quarter and its AIR stands at 1.22 crore. In the previous quarter as well, Hindustan's AIR rose by 1,12,000 and since Q2, 2011, the same has gone up by 2,20,000.

Rajasthan Patrika at No. 5, too, has witnessed a steady drop in readership over the last few quarters. In Q2, 2012, with its AIR at 67.56 lakh, the newspaper has lost 51,000 readers over the previous quarter. Since Q2, 2011, the AIR has fallen by 1,85,000, the highest among the 10 dailies.

Punjab Kesari, after a good quarter in Q1, 2012 when it gained 56,000 readers, has registered a fall of 39,000 in the latest quarter. At the sixth position, the daily's latest AIR stands at 33.47 lakh. A year ago, the newspaper's AIR was 67,000 more.

Moving up a position from eighth to seventh this quarter is Prabhat Khabar that has continued with very consistent quarterly performances. The daily had witnessed a quarter-on-quarter AIR growth of 2,50,000 in Q1, 2012. In the latest quarter, the numbers have gone up by 1,84,000. The annual analysis reveals the daily's healthy AIR rise of 7,28,000.

Navbharat Times has dropped a notch to the eighth position in the latest quarter. The daily has witnessed a marginal fall of 4,000 readers in Q2, 2012 over the previous quarter. At the end of the latest quarter, its AIR is 25.84 lakh. Since Q2, 2011, the AIR of the newspaper has fallen by 66,000.

Like Prabhat Khabar, Patrika, too, has had a very good run in the previous few quarters. Gaining 1,26,000 in the latest quarter, the daily's AIR stands at 20.72 lakh. Compared to Q2, 2011, the numbers for Patrika have gone up by 8,21,000, the best among the 10 dailies.

At No. 10 is Nai Dunia, which has lost 1,19,000 readers. This has been the daily's worst quarter in the last four. Nai Dunia's AIR has gone down by 1,45,000 readers since Q2, 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.)