If 2008 is anything like 2007, expect a deluge of international niche magazines in the Indian market. US-based music magazine Rolling Stone and Condé Nast Publications’ magazine for women, Glamour, are among the dozen-odd global players planning to launch India editions.
Niche is the new black in the Indian media industry, especially for foreign publications. Eager to tap the Rs1,300 crore magazine opportunity in India—which is expected to grow to Rs2,500 crore by 2010, according to audit and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers—global publications have found the niche segment most conducive. Indian media laws, which restrict foreign equity to 26% in the news segment, allow 100% foreign equity in non-news and non-current affairs speciality magazines. “This has resulted in many publishers turning towards niche publications,” says Alex Kuruvilla, managing director, Condè Nast India.
Radhakrishnan Nair, publisher and editor of Man’s World
Almost half of the 26-plus magazine titles launched last year were international titles, says Anurag Batra, managing director and editor-in-chief, exchange4media group, a media house focusing on media and marketing. In the past few years,
FHM (For Him Magazine),
Scientific American,
Good Housekeeping,
TimeOut, a city magazine, and
Maxim, a magazine for men, have been among those that launched India editions.
Some of them have already found a niche. Playing on brand value, these magazines have scored exclusive interviews with Indian celebrities besides leveraging the content of their international editions. Take Vogue, for example. Gauri Khan, the usually media-shy wife of superstar Shah Rukh Khan, agreed to pose for the Vogue cover in December. “She is extremely picky about what publications she poses for,” says Kuruvilla.
The international brand is what Rolling Stone, too, wants to play on. “Prestige is one of the factors why Rolling Stone will be a success in India,” says Radhakrishnan Nair, publisher and editor of Man’s World, which is brought out by Mumbai-based MW.com India Pvt. Ltd. Rolling Stone, which MW.com has licensed from Wenner Publishing, is expected to hit the stands by the end of the month. The magazine’s well-recognized brand, Nair adds, will make it easier to get exclusive interviews.
Outlook Publishing’s Maheshwar Peri
The other factor, of course, is the content. “We’ll have more on-the-ground reporting on the international scene. An Indian magazine doesn’t have the resources or infrastructure to do this sort of thing,” says Nair.