IRS Q1 2011: Top 10 English Dailies

Considerable gain for Hindustan Times; DNA and Mumbai Mirror take over The Economic Times.

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | June 17, 2011

The first quarter results of Indian Readership Survey is out and it has brought good news for 5 out of the top 10 English dailies where Hindustan Times has witnessed a considerable growth. Besides HT, The Times of India, DNA, Mumbai Mirror and The New Indian Express have registered growth according to the average issue readership (AIR) data. This quarter has also brought changes in positions where The Economic Times has been pushed two steps down by DNA and Mumbai Mirror. DNA and Mumbai Mirror have acquired No.6 and No.7 spots respectively.

'The Times of India' continues to be the largest read English daily of the country with a marginal growth in IRS Q1 2011 over the 4^th quarter of IRS 2010. The AIR data released for the IRS Q1 2010 shows that TOI has added just 18,000 readers to take its AIR at 74.42 lakh as compared to 74.24 lakh in IRS Q4 2010. The No.1 English daily had added 1.7 lakh readers in the last quarter.

The No.2 English daily 'Hindustan Times' has increased its growth rate and added 1 lakh readers in Q1 2011. The paper had added 75,000 readers in the last quarter of IRS 2010. HT's AIR now stands at 36.92 lakh as compared to 35.92 lakh in IRS Q4 2010. HT had added 64,000 readers in the third quarter of IRS 2010 also.

After a slight growth in the last quarter of IRS 2010, the No.3 English daily of the country 'The Hindu' has lost a few readers in the first quarter of IRS 2011. By losing 20,000 readers in this quarter, the daily has recorded an AIR of 20.95 lakh as compared to 21.15 lakh in the previous quarter.

'The Telegraph' stands firm at No. 4 position even after losing 35,000 readers during IRS Q1 2011. Its AIR now stands at 12.03 lakh as compared to 12.38 lakh in the previous quarter. It had added 41,000 readers in IRS Q4 2010, lost 14,000 readers in Q3 and added 7,000 readers in Q2 of IRS 2010.

At No.5 is 'Deccan Chronicle' which has registered a decline of 38,000 readers in the first quarter of IRS 2011. Its current AIR stands at 10.35 lakh in IRS Q1 2010 as compared to 10.73 lakh in last survey. The daily had lost 5,000 readers in IRS Q4 2010, lost 74,000 readers in Q3 but added 28,000 readers in Q2 of IRS 2010.

English daily DNA has dislodged The Economic Times from No.6 position by adding 72,000 readers in the first quarter of IRS 2011. In IRS Q2 2010, the daily had added 1.19 lakh readers to become the No.6 English daily of the country but was pushed to No.7 due to the the consecutive losses in Q3 and Q4 of IRS 2011. DNA's current AIR stands at 8.22 lakh as compared to 7.5 lakh in IRS Q4 2010.

'Mumbai Mirror' too has added 69,000 readers in the first quarter of IRS 2011. Riding on a considerable growth, the daily has acquired 7^th spot. Its current AIR now stands at 7.80 lakh as compared to 7.11 lakh in last quarter. The daily had lost 45,000 readers in IRS Q4 2010 and 30,000 readers in IRS Q3 2010.

Despite of marginal loss, 'The Economic Times' has been pushed to No.8 position by DNA and Mumbai Mirror. The daily has lost 28,000 readers in this quarter and its AIR now stands at 7.69 lakh as compared to 7.97 lakh IRS Q4 2010.

'The Tribune' has seen a loss of around 9% readers in the first quarter IRS 2011. Its current AIR now stands at 5.69 lakh as compared to 6.21 lakh in IRS Q4 2010.

'The New Indian Express' consolidates at 10^th spot by adding 21,000 readers in the current survey. It has registered 5.50 lakh of AIR in IRS Q1 2011 as compared to 5.29 lakh in last quarter. The Chennai based newspaper had added 23,000 readers in IRS Q4 2010 but lost 12,000 readers in the third quarter of IRS 2010.

Average Issue Readership (AIR) of a publication is defined as the number of readers of that publication who have claimed to have last read it within its periodicity – i.e. last read a daily yesterday, a weekly within the last week, a monthly within the last month, etc.

This measure is considered to be a more relevant measure of 'real' or 'regular' readership, especially for newspapers, most of which have been read / 'consumed' as matter of daily habit. Conventionally, media planners even calculate & compare cost-benefits of dailies based on the AIR figure. And hence it is perhaps most relevant to study readership trends as well in terms of AIR.

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