News about the print media in India is coming in thick and fast. While the medium is losing its hold among readers and advertisers in the West, the India story is revealing new subplots as it gathers pace.
Global players’ interest in the Indian print industry—which, according to a report by industry lobby Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries and audit and advisory firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, is expected to grow from an estimated Rs14,400 crore to Rs23,200 crore by 2011—reached a feverish pitch.
WORD VIEW (Graphic)
The year began with the unveiling of Mint, the business newspaper launched by HT Media Ltd in a content partnership with now Rupert Murdoch-owned The Wall Street Journal.
This was followed by other big-ticket announcements such as the partnership between US-based Fortune|Money Group and Ananda Bazaar Patrika Ltd to launch the Indian edition of Fortune, US-based Forbes’ tie-up with Network18 for the launch of Forbes magazine in India and UK-based Associated Newspapers Ltd with Living Media India Ltd to launch a compact daily called Mail Today. Private equity firms, too, evinced interest in this sector, with Blackstone Group putting in $275 million in Hyderabad-based media company Ushodaya Enterprises Ltd, which publishes the Eenadu newspaper.
Besides new launches, existing players added more titles and properties to their portfolios. Some, such as Mumbai-based tabloid Mid-Day and the Bhaskar Group of Companies, entered new markets with new editions, while others added new titles. Niche was the watchword as publication houses raced to corner different consumer segments. Living Media, for instance, launched a women’s health magazine, Prevention.
On the content front, newspapers saw a higher degree of localization. Moving away from national news, local events and civic problems dominated the front pages of most publications.
Regional language papers continued to forge ahead of the English media in terms of circulation. Dainik Jagran held on to its No. 1 slot with an average issue readership of 16.5 million. This accelaration was matched by a rise in advertising. Print advertising grew 21% during January-September compared with the same period in 2005, according to AdEx India, a division of Mumbai-based research agency TAM Media Research Pvt. Ltd. While education, services and financial products and services were the top three sectors that advertised in print, telecom products rang in a stupendous rise of 72% during January-September, compared with the corresponding period last year.
You ain’t seen nothing yet
PRAMATH RAJ SINHA
Despite the seeming overcrowding of print products, all indicators suggest the Indian print media industry has a long way to go in 2008.
New launches: Existing print players will launch products in related genres, in new languages and geographies, while non-print players will enter print to diversify. Foreign print players will look to launch in India. New players will enter niche segments; a new genre (say, Hindi business news), a new geography (tier II towns), or a new consumer segment (men’s health).
More investments: While internal accruals will be healthy, private equity (PE) investments and initial public offerings will likely fund a lot of expansions and launches. As will foreign publishers. PE players and bankers will look to invest in lesser-known and regional players in the quest for proprietary deals that are not overpriced.
Consolidation: Existing players and new entrants will look to buy into existing properties. There are several small and regional players that will benefit from synergies on procurement, production, distribution and, most importantly, sales and marketing.
New advertisers: Advertising in print will continue to grow robustly, with retail, education, real estate and financial services growth powering the print medium. In the recent past, all of this growth has come from new advertisers, and players who adapt their products to new advertisers and categories will capture a disproportionate share of the advertisement growth.
Newsprint prices: In this cyclical industry, prices seem to have bottomed out and the next few quarters are going to see increasing prices and shortages. So stock up on paper!
Overall, buckle up for a ride on the wild side—exciting times ahead and you ain’t seen nothing yet!
(feedback@livemint.com)