IRS Q2 2010: Parts Of Delhi Decoded

Detailed analysis of top 10 dailies in North, South, East and West Delhi based upon Average Issue Readership (AIR).

Rajat Arora | Delhi | September 13, 2010

National Capital Delhi has almost equal number of readers for English and Hindi dailies. The Indian Readership Survey divides the state into four parts as East, West, North and South Delhi. Each part of Delhi has its own readership pattern depending on its society and culture. For example, North Delhi has maximum number of Hindi readers with Navbharat Times on top while Hindustan Times is the largest read daily in South Delhi and West Delhi. In the current round of data The Times of India leads in East Delhi with a little margin over Hindustan Times. However, in overall Delhi, Hindustan Times remains as largest read English daily and Navbharat Times is the No.1 Hindi daily.

The No.1 daily of the National Capital is 'Hindustan Times' for the second consecutive round of data despite losing 51,000 readers in second quarter of IRS 2010. The English daily has an AIR of 19.61 lakh as compared to 20.12 lakh in Q1. It had surpassed The Times of India in Q1 by adding 78,000 readers in its AIR of 19.34 lakh in IRS R2 2009. Hindustan Times leads in South Delhi with 6.29 lakh readers where it has gained 8,000 readers in the current round of data. West Delhi too is dominated by Hindustan Times with an AIR of 4.70 lakh but it has lost 14,000 readers in this part of Delhi. It has lost its No.1 position in East Delhi in IRS Q2 2010 by losing 34,000 readers. It had overtaken The Times of India in Q1 with a little margin of just 2,000 readers. In East Delhi, Hindustan Times has current AIR of 4.30 lakh. In North Delhi too, Hindustan Times has lost its No1 position to Navbharat Times. By losing 12,000 readers in the current round of data, its AIR now stands at 4.31 lakh.

At second spot in Delhi is 'The Times of India' which has lost 63,000 readers. Its current AIR in overall Delhi stands at 18.85 lakh as compared to 19.48 lakh in Q1 and 20.25 lakh in IRS R2 2009. TOI has regained its No.1 position in East Delhi despite losing 26,000 readers with AIR of 4.36 lakh in current round of data. In West Delhi and South Delhi, it holds the second spot with 4.51 lakh and 5.96 lakh readers respectively. It has lost 24,000 readers in West Delhi and 15,000 readers in South Delhi. In North Delhi, the English Daily is at No.3 position with 4.01 lakh readers.

Hindi Daily 'Navbharat Times' is firmly holding No.3 spot in the National Capital and has shown consistent growth from last 2 surveys. Its current AIR stands at 17.24 lakh as compared to 16.90 lakh in Q1 and 15.90 lakh in IRS R2 2009. By gaining 66,000 readers in 2^nd quarter, it has become the new leader in North Delhi with an AIR of 4.82 lakh. Despite losing 11,000 readers in other 3 parts of Delhi each, Navbharat Times remains at No.3 position. Its current AIR stands at 4.01 lakh in South Delhi, 4.20 lakh in East Delhi and 4.21 lakh in West Delhi.

At No.4 in all parts of Delhi is Hindi daily 'Hindustan' with AIR of 11.6 lakh in IRS Q2 2010 in overall Delhi. It has registered a decline of 29,000 readers in the second quarter of IRS 2010. Its current AIR stands at 2.85 lakh in North Delhi, 3.08 lakh in South Delhi, 2.75 lakh in East Delhi and 2.92 lakh in West Delhi.

Hindi Daily 'Punjab Kesari' holds the 5^th spot in Delhi with current AIR of 7.45 lakh as compared to 7.50 lakh in IRS Q1 2010. It remains on No.5 position in North Delhi, South Delhi and West Delhi while in East Delhi it is at No.6. Its AIR in the second quarter of IRS 2010 stands at 2.18 lakh in North Delhi, 1.44 lakh in South Delhi, 1.65 lakh in East Delhi and 2.18 lakh in West Delhi.

India's largest read daily 'Dainik Jagran' at No.6 position in Delhi with a slight growth in the current round of data. By adding 11,000 readers in second quarter of IRS 2010, its AIR now stands at 6.62 lakh as compared to 6.51 lakh in last round of data. Dainik Jagran has its most readers in East Delhi with an AIR of 2.62 lakh where it holds the 5^th spot ahead of Punjab Kesari. Its current AIR stands at 1.42 lakh in North Delhi, 1.36 lakh in South Delhi and 1.22 lakh in West Delhi.

At No.7 is English daily 'Mail Today' from India Today Group which has again become the 3^rd largest read English daily in the National Capital. By adding 16,000 readers in IRS Q2 2010, its AIR has reached up to 2.03 lakh as compared to 1.87 lakh in Q1. Mail Today had lost its 3^rd spot to The Economic Times. It had 1.94 lakh readers in IRS R2 2010. Its current AIR stands at 50,000 in North Delhi, 60,000 in South Delhi, 37,000 in East Delhi and 56,000 in West Delhi.

The largest read business daily of the country 'The Economic Times' is at No.8 position in Delhi with a slight decline of just 4,000 readers in current round of data. Its AIR in Q2 stands at 1.86 lakh as compared to 1.90 lakh in Q1. ET had replaced Mail Today to become No.3 English daily in Delhi in Q1 by adding 15,000 readers. Its current AIR stands at 41,000 in North Delhi, 56,000 in South Delhi, 43,000 in East Delhi and 47,000 in West Delhi.

English daily 'The Hindu' has maintained its growth and 9^th spot in this quarter too and added 12,000 readers to take its AIR up to 1.02 lakh as compared to 90,000 in last quarter. Its current AIR stands at 39,000 in North Delhi, 30,000 in South Delhi and 18,000 in West Delhi.

Hindi Daily 'Amar Ujala' has again registered marginal loss in the second quarter of IRS 2010. After losing 14,000 readers in Q1, the Hindi daily has lost 3,000 readers in Q2 to take its AIR at 95,000. Its current AIR stands at 22,000 in North Delhi and 53,000 in East Delhi where it holds 7^th spot.

The No.10 position in South Delhi is held by 'The Indian Express' with AIR of 22,000 while 'Rashtriya Sahara' holds 10^th spot in East Delhi with 33,000 readers despite losing 10,000 readers in current round of data. Hindi daily 'Nai Dunia' has made an entry into top 10 list in West Delhi with 17,000 readers.

Analytical inputs by Stratagem Media Pvt. Ltd.

Rajat.Arora@BestMediaInfo.com

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