The Sunday Guardian begins distribution in Mumbai

Beginning with Delhi and venturing to Chandigarh, the four year old newspaper has now extended its presence to Mumbai.

Earlier this month, ITV Network-owned weekly newspaper, The Sunday Guardian launched its Mumbai edition with an initial print run of 50,000 copies. Led by M J Akbar, the paper is already present in Delhi and NCR, and Chandigarh.

The Mumbai edition is priced at Rs 10 and targets high net worth individuals and affluent weekend readers. Speaking on the launch of the Mumbai edition, M J Akbar, editorial director, The Sunday Guardian, says, "Mumbai is perhaps the most cosmopolitan and liberal metropolis in the country. There are many papers but The Sunday Guardian is a different newspaper altogether, as even a glance would suggest, and a quiet read would confirm that."

The Sunday Guardian has opted for a soft launch. Printed and distributed by Dangat Media, it plans to study the market response before it makes its presence felt through the use of different media vehicles.

The Mumbai edition has a strong local and regional coverage to complement the national content. The paper has high expectations from its unique 20-page section, Guardian20, that it claims is a hit, especially among the youth. The section has reviews on movies, books, fashion and other topics.

The paper claims that it is mostly read by people above the age of 40 years. With a circulation of 74,000 copies in Delhi and NCR and 35,000 copies in Chandigarh, it also claims that the average reading time for The Sunday Guardian is 45 minutes and a wide reach that includes diplomats, government servants, corporate houses, educational institutions, institutions, hotels and airlines, and subscriptions from residential areas.

The paper mainly targets high end advertisers such as BMW, Audi, watches and other brands as it reaches out to their target audience.

The weekly focuses on research based stories that attempt to bring a new perspective for the readers.

As more people are consuming news on the internet platform, it also plans to launch an e-paper. Although it already has a website that offers news content, the information in not provided edition-wise.

The paper was started in January, 2010 and bought by ITV Networks in August, 2012; it plans to launch other editions in 2014.