MULTIPLE MEDIA BUSINESS SCENARIO: A STUDY OF NEWSPAPER HOUSES IN INDIA

Multiple Media Business Scenario: A Study of Newspaper Houses in

India
Nitesh Tripathi1

Abstract

The newspaper industry in India has sustained and in fact prospered in times when the print
media all around the world especially in the western countries is suffering setbacks. In such hard

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times when new media and electronic media is everybody’s favorite, not all the newspapers in
India have managed to survive. While the vernacular press has deepened its reach, the English

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press has seen decline with exception of The Times of India. Hence a need arises to understand
the business model in terms of how they have managed to thrive under such a competitive

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market. Also attempt needs to be made to explore their ownership pattern, branding, marketing
and management techniques. This study aims to analyze and study the present print media

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scenario. For the purpose of study, the top newspapers of the country in 2017 (According to
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ABC) in terms of circulation- i.e. Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar, Hindustan, The Times of India
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and Amar Ujala have been taken. In depth qualitative methods have been used to study the
newspaper houses, their sister concerns/ subsidiaries and cross media ownership pattern and how
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they have managed to create a niche for themselves in an ever increasing cut- throat competition
within the print and as well as from new media and electronic media.
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Keywords: Newspaper, Digital Media, Cross- Ownership, Vernacular, Consolidation

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1. Introduction
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According to ABC’s latest report Print media in India is alive and growing despite its decline in
all the other markets around the world. The CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) for the
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sector is pegged at 4.87%. There are many reasons which can be attributed to this thrive – less
competition from digital, diversification of products and services, increased literacy levels and
robust economy. But certainly the most important reason has been change in integration of
markets. Earlier the focus of media houses was on Chain ownership which has now shifted to
Cross- Media ownership (ownership of multiple media businesses by a person or corporation).

1
Research Scholar, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
India

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Cross- Media ownership can include stakes in broadcast and cable television, film, radio,
newspaper, magazine, book publishing, music, video games, and various online entities. 2 The
advantage of this kind of ownership is that financial, administrative and human resources can be
centrally managed. Because of this, cost of production becomes low due to best possible
utilization of resources. There are other advantages too such as- single content multiple use,
multiple touch points, easy launch of new products and increase in advertising.

There’s an old age saying ‘Jack of all trades and King of None’, media houses of present times

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have altered it for good. Now they believe in ‘Jack of all trades and King of one’. And thus they
manage to churn out profits year after year in a digital world where internet is disrupting print

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media and forcing them into convergence. And hence this study was conducted so as to find out

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the presence of newspaper houses in various mediums. For this purpose the ABC (Audit Bureau
of Circulation) report was utilized to find out the top news dailies of India. Later information on
these organizations, their diversification and products/ services they offer was collected through
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analysis of their websites. Then the data was arranged in tables and analyzed for further insights.
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2. Aim
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The focus of the study is to understand changing dynamics of newspapers in light of their
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commercial viability. An attempt will be made to understand the ownership pattern, branding,
marketing strategies and business model that they have adopted.
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3. Objectives
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 To study the presence of newspapers in Electronic and New media (including Mobile
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and Social Media)

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 To find presence of sister concerns of newspaper houses and the genres they have tread
into.
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 To study other ventures or territories that newspaper houses have explored.

 To study services and products offered by newspapers to people belonging to varied
demography and geography.
 To evaluate marketing strategies employed by newspaper houses to run successful and
profitable business.

2- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_cross-ownership_in_the_United_States

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 To study emerging trends that is taking place due to cross media ownership.

4. Research Methodology

For the purpose of the study, Secondary Data Analysis was carried out by analyzing- research
reports of Ernst & Young and FICCI- KPMG, website articles on cross media ownership, official
websites of newspapers, research papers and also books on Media Business such as- Media
Myths- Making Sense of the Debate Over Media Ownership (Adam D. Thierer) and The Indian

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Media Business (Vanita Kohli Khandekar).

5. Data Interpretation and Analysis

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The analysis of ownership information of newspaper houses is as follows-

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Table 1 Presence in Print Media

Other Newspapers
IVMagazine and books
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Newspaper- Dainik Jagran
Nai Dunia (Hindi) Acquired in 2012 Sakhi (Women Magazine)
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I- Next (Bilingual) Khet Khalihan (Agriculture Magazine)

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Mid- Day (English) Acquired 2010 Junior Jagran (Children Magazine)

Mid Day Gujarati (Gujarati) Jagran Yearbook
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Inquilab (Urdu) Jagran Josh (Competition Magazine)

Punjabi Jagran (Punjabi)
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City Plus (English Weekly Tabloid)

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Newspaper- Dainik Bhaskar

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Divya Bhaskar (Gujarati) As Saurashtra Samachar Aha Zindagi (Family & Lifestyle
in Bhavnagar & Sorath Bhaskar in Junagarh Supplement)
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Divya Marathi (Marathi) Bal Bhaskar (Children’s Magazine)

DB Star (Compact Hindi) Young Bhaskar (Adolescent Magazine)
DB Post (Compact English) Madhurima (Broadsheet Supplement for
Daily News Analysis (English) Partnership with Zee women)
promoted Diligent Media Corporation- Now Navrang (Bollywood supplement)
terminated Yougle Bhaskar (Supplement on Career)

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Newspaper- The Times of India

The Economic Times (Finance) ET Wealth (Finance Magazine)
Maharashtra Times (Marathi) ZigWheels (Automobile Magazine)
Vijaya Karnataka (Kannada) Acquired- 2006 Acquired by Cardekho in 2015
Navbharat Times (Hindi) Filmfare (Film Magazine)
Ei Samay (Bengali) Femina (Women Fashion Magazine)
Mumbai Mirror (Compact Newspaper) Joint Venture with BBC Magazines

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Ahmedabad Mirror
Bangalore Mirror

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Pune Mirror
Nav Gujarat Samay

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Sandhya Times (Hindi Evening Newspaper)
Newspaper- Amar Ujala
Amar Ujala Compact
IVRupayan (Women Magazine)
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Yuvaan (Weekly Supplement) Udaan (Education & Career Magazine)
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Manorajan (Weekly Supplement) Safalta (Current Affairs Magazine)
Orbit (Monthly supplement) Samayiki (Competition Magazine)
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Newspaper- Hindustan
Hindustan Times (English newspaper) Nandan (Monthly Children Magazine)
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Mint (Business Newspaper) Lounge (Lifestyle Magazine by Mint)

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HT Next (Youth Daily) Kadambani (Monthly Literary

Magazine)
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Table 1 shows presence of newspaper houses in Print Media. Dainik Jagran is a Hindi language
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daily newspaper. As of 2010, it was the 17th most read newspaper in the world with a readership
of 5.59 crores. It has 37 editions and covers 11 states of India. It owns I-next, Mid Day, Sakhi,
Inquilab and Nai Dunia. The Dainik Bhaskar Group has 6 newspapers with 66 editions and has
a total readership of 1.26 crores. It is the second largest circulated daily newspaper of India. It is
present in 14 states with editions in Hindi, English, Marathi and Gujarati. It also publishes Divya
Bhaskar, Divya Marathi, Bal Bhaskar, Aha Zindagi and Madhurima. The Times of India (TOI)

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is an English-language daily newspaper which is the third-largest newspaper in India by

circulation and largest selling English-language daily in the world according to Audit Bureau of
Circulations (India). It also has ownership of Economic Times, Maharashtra Times, Vijaya
Karnataka, Navbharat Times, Ei Samay, Mumbai Mirror, Filmfare and Femina. Amar Ujala is
India’s 3rd largest newspaper with total readership of 4.65 crore readers as per latest Indian
Readership Survey (IRS 2017). Amar Ujala has 20 editions, in 7 states and 1 union territory
covering 179 districts. It also publishes Amar Ujala Compact, Manoranjan, Rupayan, Udaan,

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Orbit, Safalta and Samayiki. Hindustan is an Indian Hindi-language daily newspaper and is
associated with Hindustan Times (English newspaper). Other sister publications of Hindustan are

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Nandan and Kadambani.

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Table 2- Presence in Television Industry

Newspaper TV Channels
Dainik Jagran Channel 7 (Sold)
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Dainik Bhaskar Bhaskar Cinema Bhaskar News
Bhaskar Movie Bhaskar Bhakti
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Bhaskar Magic Songs

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The Times of MN+ (English movie) Movies Now (Movies)

India Romedy Now (Movies) MNX (Movies)
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Times Now (English News) ET Now (News)

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Mirror Now (News) Zoom (Music)

Amar Ujala NIL
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Hindustan NIL
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Table 2 shows presence of newspaper houses in Television Industry. Jagran Prakashan Ltd.
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launched Channel 7 in 2005. But it was acquired in 2006 by Network 18. The Dainik Bhaskar
Group has presence in television under the name Bhaskar TV. The Times Group owns
television channels such as ET Now, Mirror Now, Movies Now, MNX, MN+, Romedy Now and
Times Now.

Table 3- Presence in Radio Industry

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Newspaper Radio Channel

Dainik Jagran Radio Mantra ( 91.9 FM)
Radio City (91.1 FM)
Acquired- 2014
Dainik Bhaskar 94.3 MY FM
The Times of India Radio Mirchi (98.3 FM)
Amar Ujala NIL

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Hindustan Fever 104 FM
Radio Nasha

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Table 3 shows presence of newspaper houses in Radio Industry. Jagran Prakashan Ltd. owns
Radio Mantra and Radio City. The Dainik Bhaskar Group has launched 94.3 MY FM. Radio

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Mirchi is owned by The Times Group. HT media owns Fever 104 FM and Radio Nasha.
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Table 4.1- Presence in Digital Media (Part 1)
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Internet & Mobile Apps
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Newspaper- Dainik Jagran

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www.jagran.com (Hindi News & Epaper) www.herzindagi.com (Women’s lifestyle,

inextlive.jagran.com (Hindi News) wellness & food)
english.jagran.com (English News) www.inquilab.com (Urdu News)
epaper.punjabijagran.com (Punjabi Epaper) www.onlymyhealth.com (Health website)
www.gujaratimidday.com (Gujarati News) www.mmionline.in (Provider of quality
www.mid-day.com (English News) online content)
www.jagranjosh.com (Competition and www.jagranyatra.com (Travel website)

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Current Affairs) Jagran PCC (Jagran IT Kanpur App)
naidunia.jagran.com (Hindi News & Jagran English Speaking Course App

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Epaper) Sarkari Naukri Job Alert App
www.jagranjunction.com (Blogging Jagran Banking- IBPS, SBI PO App

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platform) Jagran GK Quiz App
www.radiocity.in (Website of Radiocity)
www.khojle.in (Classified ads posts)
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Newspaper- Dainik Bhaskar
& dbpost.com (English News & Epaper)
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www.bhaskar.com (Hindi News
Epaper) www.homeonline.com (Property)
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www.divyabhaskar.co.in (Gujarati News bhaskarlive.bhaskar.com (Video

& Epaper) broadcasting platform)
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divyamarathi.com (Marathi News & Epaper) www.dainikbhaskargroup.com

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www.dailybhaskar.com (Entertainment (Organization Info)

& Bollywood) Bhaskar group Epaper App
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www.fashion101.in (Fashion) Change Abhi (Lifestyle App)

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www.dnaindia.com (English News & Bhaskar Customer Connect App

Epaper) DBCL Matrix (News App)
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gadgets.bhaskar.com (Technology News) Bhaskar Gujarat Connect App

myfmindia.com (Website of MY FM) FirstWall- Social Video Community App
moneybhaskar.com (Business News)
food.bhaskar.com (Cooking)
Newspaper- Amar Ujala

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www.amarujala.com (Hindi News & www.firkee.in (News with wit)

Epaper) www.amarujala.com/kavya (Poetry &
www.amarujalatv.com (Browser Based Shayari)
TV) safalta.com (Government Job Preparation)
foundation.amarujala.com (Website of Amar results.amarujala.com (Exam Results)
Ujala Foundation)
Newspaper- Hindustan

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www.hindustantimes.com (English News www.desimartini.com (Movie, Fashion,
& Epaper) Gossip, Lifestyle & TV)

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www.livehindustan.com (Hindi News & www.livemint.com (Business, Finance &
Epaper) Budget News)

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www.htcampus.com (University & College www.shine.com (Job Search)
search) www.englishmate.com (English Speaking
punjabi.hindustantimes.com (Punjabi News)
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courses)
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www.bridgesom.com (Website of Bridge
School of Management)
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# Emboldened websites have Apps in Google Play

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Table 4.1 shows presence of Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar, Amar Ujala and Hindustan in
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Internet and Mobile Applications. Internet presence speaks volumes about how much newspaper
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are trying to capture the readers’ attention and cater to needs of netizens and youth. For instance,
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Dainik Jagran has vastly launched websites that cater avid news readers and that too in Hindi.
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Apart from that, it has websites dedicated to English, Punjabi, Gujarati and Urdu language. In
terms of demography, it has websites that are dedicated to women and also students who are
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preparing for competitive exams. It has also treaded into genres of travel and blogging. Dainik
Bhaskar has websites mainly dedicated to Hindi news but also it serves readers of Gujarati,
Marathi and English. It has presence in property, cooking, business, technology, fashion and
entertainment genres. It has a website dedicated to video broadcasting by citizens. Amar Ujala
has acceptable amount of internet presence with Hindi news and competitive exams websites. It
has launched a browser based TV for mobile viewers. HT Media unlike Times of India has

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treaded only into few languages such as Hindi, English and Punjabi. Apart from news, it has
websites dedicated to business, finance, education and job vacancies.

Table 4.2- Presence in Digital Media (Part 2)

Newspaper- The Times Group (Internet & Mobile Apps)

www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com (English www.tbsl.in (Business Solutions)
News & Epaper) www.coupondunia.in (Coupons, Cash back,

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www.indiatimes.com (Tech, Lifestyle, Offers & Promo code)
Entertainment & Health) www.taskbucks.com (Reward App to earn

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www.brandcapital.co.in (Investment arm and recharge & Paytm cash) Acquired- 2015
Branding solutions) www.dineout.co.in (Reservation in

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www.gadgetsnow.com (Technology) restaurants with offers & discounts) Acquired
www.gaana.com (Music and songs access) www.inresto.com (Complete solutions for
www.boxtv.com (watching multiple language Restaurant management) Acquired
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movies and TV serials for free) www.theviralshots.com (Trending & Fun
www.cricbuzz.com (Cricket News) Stories)
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www.mensxp.com (Fashion, Health & Tech) www.gradeup.co (Exam Preparation)

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www.idiva.com (Women’s Lifestyle & Acquired

Fashion) www.timesjobs.com (Vacancies & Job
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www.zigwheels.com (Automobile and Two Search)

wheeler news, Buy & Sell platform- Acquired www.simplymarry.com (Discontinued)
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by CarDekho) www.ads2book.com (Booking Newspaper

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www.speakingtree.in (Spiritual) classified ads)

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www.getmeashop.com (Ecommerce website www.stepahead.timesjobs.com (Premium

creation & solutions) Career Services- Resume Writing)
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www.economictimes.indiatimes.com www.techgig.com (Tech Community

(Business & Market News in Hindi, English Platform & Coding Contest)
& Gujarati) www.jobbuzz.timesjobs.com (Career
www.mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com (Local Guidance)
News) www.timesmusic.com (Website of Times
bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com (Local News) Music & Music Library)

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punemirror.indiatimes.com (Local News) www.willow.tv/tvchannel (Live streaming of

ahmedabadmirror.indiatimes.com (Local cricket matches) Acquired- 2016
News) www.timesmobile.in (Organization Info.)
www.educationtimes.com (Education News) tcnext.com (Post buy, sell & rent ads for free)
www.gizmodo.in (Technology & Science) www.activeconnect.in (mobile enterprise
eisamay.indiatimes.com (Bengali News & service delivery platform)
Epaper) www.whatshot.in (Happenings & Places to

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vijaykarnataka.indiatimes.com (Kannada visit in 5 metro cities)
News & Epaper) www.timesknowledge.in (Informative-

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www.timesnownews.com (News in Hindi & Science & History)
English) www.remit2india.com (Financial

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www.iamgujarat.com (Gujarati News) Remittance Service by Times of Money)
www.samayam.com (News in Tamil, Telugu www.earthcareawards.com
& Malayalam)
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Times Food (App)
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maharashtratimes.indiatimes.com (Marathi Follo App
News) MX Player (Music Player App) Acquired-
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www.bombaytimes.com (Film News) 2018

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www.misskyra.com (Celebrity Gossip & Film Baazi Now (Live Quiz games App)
News) ETMONEY App
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www.timesascent.com (Career & Vacancies) Happy Trips App

www.timesguarantylimited.com (Website of ReleaseMyAd App
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Times Guaranty Ltd.) TOI Citizen Reporter App

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navbharattimes.indiatimes.com (Hindi Times City- Local News Alerts App

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News) ET Markets- NSE & BSE App

www.newspointapp.com (English News) Telugu News App
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www.adageindia.in (Advertising & ETBrandEquity App

Marketing) Partnership with Advertising
Age
tlabs.in (Startup Accelerator & Seed fund for
startups)
www.knowyourresult.com (Board Results)

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www.timesmediastudies.com (Website of
Times Group Learning Centres)
# Emboldened websites have Apps in Google Play

Table 4.2 shows presence of The Times of India in Internet and Mobile Applications. When it
comes to Internet, Times Group wins internet space by margins. It has presence in every genre
and performs exceptionally well in all of them. And thus it continues to be one of the largest

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media houses of India, Asia and the world as well. It has news websites dedicated to almost all
the major languages of India. Not only this, it has vast content dedicated to young generation,

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both men and women. It has launched, acquired or carried out joint venture to expand in genres

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such as entertainment, film, lifestyle, business, marketing, ecommerce, travel, education etc.
Also most of its popular websites have Apps in Google Play and thus Times Group leads in
mobile applications arena as well.
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Table 5 Presence on Social Media
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Account Name & Followers
Title Twitter followers Youtube Subscribers Facebook followers
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Dainik Jagran @JagranNews (566 K) Dainik Jagran (8,545) @dainikjagran (14 M)

Dainik @DainikBhaskar (531 Dainik Bhaskar @dainikbhaskar (14
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Bhaskar K) (349,015) M)
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The Times of @timesofindia (11.4 M) The Times of India @TimesofIndia (11

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India (761,572) M)
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Amar Ujala @AmarUjalaNews (733 Amar Ujala (149,008) @Amarujala (7.4 M)

K)
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Hindustan @Live_Hindustan (87.8 Live Hindustan @LiveHindustanNews

K) (219,679) (2.1 M)
# Source: Social Media Accounts # K is thousand & M is million

Table 5 shows presence of Newspaper Houses on Social Media which speaks volumes on how
much attention is being paid on internet users. In the digital age, loss in revenues due to falling

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circulation is forcing newspapers to create online websites and accounts. Not just this, to
compete with others in the market they have to attract maximum viewers on their page so as to
boost their followers. This in turn may help them to translate these viewers into user of their
services which is one of the benefits of being online. Apart from this, social media accounts
proves vital in helping internet users identify these media houses as human entity and not just
profit making and propaganda setting organizations.

Table 6 Other Ventures, BTL and Social Arms

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Others Ventures

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Newspaper - Dainik Jagran
Jagran Engage (OOH) Jagran International

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Jagran Solutions (Marketing solutions) Jagran Research Centre
Pehel (Social arm) Jagran Foundation
Radio City Freedom Awards (Event)
IV MiD DAY Bollywood Lunch
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Radio City Super Singer (Event) Contest (Event)
Radio City School of Broadcasting MiD DAY Happy Hours
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AudaCITY (Solutions Agency) (Event)

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Radio City Gully Premier League (Event) MiD DAY Media Nights
Radio City Musical e Azam (Event) (Event)
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Radio City Blue Carpet (Event) MiD DAY Corporate Cricket

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Gig City (Event) League

Jagran New Media (Online
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Arm)
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Jagran Forum
Jagran University
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Newspaper - Dainik Bhaskar

Media Corp Limited (Mobile interactive DB Mall
services)
Newspaper - The Times of India

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Go Green (Campaign) Vijayanand Printers Limited

Times OOH (Acquired in 2006)
Mirchi Movies Limited (Film production) Times Guaranty Limited
Remit2India (Remittance Services) (Corporate Lending)
Times Media Studies (Learning Centers) Junglee Music (Music label)
Times of India Film Awards Times Wellness
Femina Miss India Bennet University

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Times Business Solutions Filmfare Awards
Active Connect (Mobile Enterprise Service Earth Care Awards

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delivery) Times International Media
360 Degrees (Events & Entertainment) Marketing

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Moneysights (Personal
Finance Platform)

IV Times Foundation
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(Philanthropic Arm)
Newspaper - Amar Ujala
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Touch Point (Business Solutions) Autdoors (OOH Solutions)

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Amar Ujala Foundation (Social Arm)

Newspaper - Hindustan
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English Mate (English Learning Centers) Webitude (Marketing Agency)

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Bridge School of Management (Education) Acquired

DIGIWISE Summit (In
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collaboration with Google)

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Table 6 shows Other Ventures, Events, BTL and Social Arms of newspaper houses. Jagran
Engage is the OOH division of Jagran Prakashan Limited. JPL also owns Jagran University,
Jagran Solutions, Jagran International, Jagran New Media and Jagran Foundation. DB Corp Ltd
owns Media Corp Limited that provides integrated and mobile interactive services. Bennett
Coleman and Co. Ltd owns Times OOH, Vijayanand Printers Limited, Times Guaranty
Limited, Times Music, Bennet University and Times Business Solutions. Times Foundation is
the social arm of the group. Amar Ujala offers Integrated Business Solutions through Touch

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Point. Amar Ujala Foundation is its social arm and Autdoors is the OOH division. HT Media
owns digital marketing agency Webitude and it also organizes DIGIWISE Summit.

6. Conclusion and Discussion

The Indian print industry grew at a rate of 7% from INR 283 billion in 2015 to INR 303 billion
in 2016. In 2016, the print advertisement revenue reached INR 201 billion. The phenomenal
growth of newspapers in India when newspapers all around the world are facing threats of

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closure can be attributed to marketing techniques and business model that the newspaper
organizations have adopted.

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Factors behind success- Merger and Acquisition, diversification and partnerships are in trend in

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media industry which helps them to survive, sustain and also decrease losses. The prominence of
print media can also be attributed to the robust growth of the Indian economy. Another reason is
that the large proportion of population in India is youth. With 356 million 10-24 year-olds, India

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has the world’s largest youth. With growing push on education, Indian literacy rate has grown to
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74% (2011 Census) which means that there is a jump of almost 10% within a decade. The
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readership base has grown to 395 million. Not only this, among the people who can read and
those who actually read a newspaper, there is a gap of about 50 per cent, which tells us that there
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is a lot of scope for growth. Also technological disruption is yet to impact household readership
as internet penetration in India is very low. Also most Indians in the age group of 35 years and
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above still prefer a physical copy.

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Strategies employed- Newspapers have introduced customized sections and pullouts that cater
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to various segments of readers together with localized content. By adopting techniques of market
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penetration, market development, product development and diversification, newspaper houses

have not just survived but also thrived. Easy accessibility, door-to door delivery, affordability
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due to low pricing, comfort and the habit of reading a physical copy are the main factors that has
kept print media relevant in the digital era.

Presence in other Outlets

Going Hyper local- In top 10 newspapers of the country according to ABC, there 5 Hindi, 2
Malayalam, 1 Tamil, 1 Telugu and 1 English. English has largely restricted itself to metros,

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mini-metros and smaller towns. About 60 per cent of the language circulation is coming from
non-metros and non-urban area, where English is not able to reach. Also literacy is growing in
mother-tongue which is the main reason behind success of vernacular newspapers. And thus top
newspaper houses including Hindi and English newspapers have started vernacular editions
(particularly in the markets with lower internet penetration) in tier-II and tier-III cities/regions of
the country. Another reason for localizing product and reach is the increasing size of the middle
class that speaks different languages. An analysis of the print spends in 2006 and 2007 shows

TY
that even though metros constituted a larger share of the total print spends in both years, ad
spends diverted towards Key Urban Towns (KUT) grew at a much higher rate than the spends

SI
towards metros. This is indicative of the fact that advertisers are cognizant of the growing
significance of the KUT in India.

ER
Becoming Hybrid and Social- The introduction of in-house websites allows companies to grab
more audience and monetize content through digital platforms. Combined news supply helps to
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increase the reach through varied platforms. With the growing base of generation Y in India,
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digital media has emerged as one of the favored destination for news and information. With this
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swift growth of news consumption, the mobile phone and portable device spaces has become the
new battlefield for several companies.
AS

Mobile app usage in India is outperforming the global growth rate, registering an average Year
TI

over Year growth of 131%. Among the app categories, ‘news and reading’ witnessed an average
annual growth rate of 311 per cent, making it the second fastest growing app category after
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‘personalization’. With decreasing attention spans and the snowballing trend of accessing news
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on-the-go, companies have started to focus on the ‘news’ category to grab a larger share of the
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mobile-user pie.
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There has been rise in usage of social media platforms in India. India has a reported 143 million
social media users forming about 65% of India’s internet user base. Times of India, Dainik
Jagran and Dainik Bhaskar are the leaders as far as presence on social media platforms is
concerned. And no doubt this active participation on social media is one of the reasons they
occupy Top 3 slots.

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 MULTIPLE MEDIA BUSINESS SCENARIO: A STUDY OF NEWSPAPER HOUSES IN INDIA

Electronic Media- With exception of Amar Ujala, all the newspapers own radio channels. And
when it comes to television, most of the newspapers own TV channels with The Times of India
leading the pack. But Dainik Jagran, Amar Ujala and Hindustan have no stakes in television
industry.

OOH and Advertising- The print industry in India is relatively less dependent on circulation
revenue and thus major newspaper houses have sometimes engaged in predatory pricing such as
the famous Times War. Advertising continued to be the backbone of the print industry,

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accounting for more than 66 per cent of the total revenues. Every media house has its OOH
Division (Example- Planet Outdoor, Autodoors) which specializes in providing customized Out

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of Home media solutions to advertisers as they have media at their disposal. They have now

ER
started offering bundled solutions to clients, which may include print power jacket covers, video
ads on digital platforms, radio ads, etc. Not just this they have merged print and online
advertising offerings into a singular selling platform.
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Social Arms- Social arms and initiatives such as Pehel, Amar Ujala Foundation and Times
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Foundation extensively address and work on social issues by organizing forums, seminars,
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camps and road shows to spread awareness on various topics and issues such as health, diseases,
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environment protection, education, women empowerment etc. All these initiatives help these
organizations to portray that they are not just profit churning organizations but are also socially
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responsible. This in turn creates goodwill and a positive image amongst readers and public in
general.
O
G

BTL (Below the Line) - There has been a significant increase in number of newspapers going
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into BTL marketing. Major newspaper houses are investing in direct marketing, events, film
festivals, award functions, marketing activation and other BTL activities. One of the reasons for
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this is mass media fragmentation. Since the clutter in mass media is very high, getting audience
attention is difficult through above-the-line (ATL) marketing. And thus some of the largest event
companies in India are print companies because they provide cost effective way of reaching
audience.

Other Ventures- JPL under its umbrella has variety of products in areas such as marketing
solutions, events and awards functions organizing and education institutes. Dainik Bhaskar has

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 MULTIPLE MEDIA BUSINESS SCENARIO: A STUDY OF NEWSPAPER HOUSES IN INDIA

invested largely in infrastructure, real estate, construction and it has buildings and malls under its
portfolio. TOI has focused on film production, remittance services, learning centers, Award
Functions and events, sponsorship and endorsement, printing, music production, corporate
lending and education institutes and thus is rightfully the largest conglomerate of India. HT
Media just like TOI has outlets in education, marketing solutions and event organizing.

Recent developments and Trends

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Treading new genres and demography- The demassification and sub- classification of market
has encouraged newspaper houses into market and product development. Dainik Jagran,

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Hindustan and Amar Ujala have launched print products (Magazines, supplements etc.) for niche
readers such as women, children, exam aspirants and office goers. Dainik Bhaskar has magazines

ER
for family, children and adolescents and also in varied genres such as lifestyle, entertainment and
career. The Times of India has products dedicated especially for automobile, finance, business,

IV
entertainment and fashion. Not just this, genre specific websites have been introduced to cater to
a specific set of audience. The motive behind this is to increase the consolidated revenue of the
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firm and to get non-print readers on board by utilizing the content that is already there.
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Ownership pattern- There was a time when newspapers followed chain ownership but the
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market slowdown forced them to integrate both horizontally and vertically. Newspapers like
Times of India are leading the way and have become a conglomerate (ownership of several
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businesses one of which is a media business). From this study it’s quite evident that adopting
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cross media ownership is the need of the hour. The more media outlet you have, the better and
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more your reach becomes.

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Diversification, Consolidation and Convergence- There has been a convergence of content,

technology and medium as far as media industry is concerned. Also in the last few years there
G

has been a growing consolidation of media organizations by acquiring smaller media outlets
which is proving beneficial as clubbing together helps in bringing more capital which in turn
increases risk taking abilities of the organization altogether. Acquisition of Nai Dunia, Mid Day
and Radio City by Dainik Jagran, Vijay Karnataka by Times of India further illustrates this point.

Market Penetration- As far as presence in print media is concerned, newspapers have

penetrated in even small towns as saturation for metro and other major cities had come a long

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 MULTIPLE MEDIA BUSINESS SCENARIO: A STUDY OF NEWSPAPER HOUSES IN INDIA

time back. Also they are trying to increasing circulation within existing market segments. They
are doing so either by providing increased number of supplements to established customers or by
finding new customers within existing markets. They are accomplishing this by price decrease,
increase in promotion and distribution support, acquisition of a rival in the same market and
modest product refinements.

Technological advancement- The newspapers are doing Slick packaging. Almost all the big
newspapers are now in color, have a sleek size and aesthetically designed pages. By introducing

TY
colorful and attractive supplements and increasing number of pages they are trying to attract
maximum readers which in turn bring more advertisers. Innovation in printing has given rise to

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new forms of newspaper such as tabloid which are replacing broadsheets and gaining more

ER
attention.

Concerns

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But there are many issues such as concentration of media ownership, loss of diversity and
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plurality of media which have arisen due to cross media ownership. And thus TRAI (Telecom
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Regulatory Authority of India) along with Competition Commission of India (CCI) needs to be
involved so as to bring regulations relating to concentration of ownership, Mergers and
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Acquisitions (M&A), Tie-in arrangements, exclusive supply and distribution agreements and
predatory pricing. It is in this aspect another study should be conducted to analyze as to how it is
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impacting small media businesses, public perception and democracy.

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References
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[1]. https://www.wikipedia.org
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[2]. https://india.allmedialink.com
[3]. https://www.medianama.com
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[4]. http://www.indiantelevision.com
[5]. http://bestmediainfo.com
[6]. http://www.afaqs.com
[7]. https://www.thequint.com
[8]. http://www.auditbureau.org
[9]. http://rni.nic.in
[10]. https://www.ey.com
[11]. https://www.epw.in

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[12]. https://home.kpmg.com
[13]. http://www.jagranyatra.com/
[14]. https://naidunia.jagran.com/about-us
[15]. https://www.jagranjosh.com/about-us
[16]. https://www.mid-day.com/about-us
[17]. https://dbpost.com/
[18]. https://www.dainikbhaskargroup.com/our-history.php
[19]. https://money.bhaskar.com/
[20]. https://www.dnaindia.com/about

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[21]. http://timesinternet.in/
[22]. https://foundation.amarujala.com/about-us

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[23]. https://www.amarujala.com/about-us
[24]. http://www.htmedia.in/?page_id=7

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[25]. https://www.livehindustan.com/about-us/

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