The IRS has vanished into media’s Bermuda Triangle. Can it ever return?

New Delhi: Everyone has heard of the Bermuda Triangle, that stretch of the Atlantic where ships and aircraft have vanished without explanation.

For the Indian media industry, a Bermuda Triangle exists, too. But here, it isn’t ships and planes that have disappeared; it is the Indian Readership Survey.

In this version, the three points of the triangle are clear: Advertisers, Agencies, and Publishers. And somewhere in the middle, the IRS has sunk. No one has seen it since 2019.

Once known as the Bible of the print industry, the Indian Readership Survey gave advertisers clarity on newspaper and magazine reach, offered agencies a common planning yardstick, and provided publishers a trusted currency to prove their audience.

Today, people whisper about its return. Some blame cost; others fear uncomfortable truths. But one fact is undeniable: Indian print has no common currency.

What went down?

To understand the mystery, let’s rewind. The IRS began operations in 1995, shortly after the establishment of the Media Research Users Council (MRUC). MRUC was created to make research neutral and trustworthy.

In its early years, the IRS became a giant. At its peak, it went into more than 300,000 homes across India. From metros to villages, it tracked who read what, who watched what, and even who bought what. It was not just about print. It linked media habits with product consumption.

By 2017, after some years of fights and pauses, the IRS made a comeback with new tech and strict checks. Interviewers carried tablets, their locations were tracked with GPS, and surprise audits kept the process clean.

The last survey in 2019 showed print was still alive and kicking. Total readership touched 425 million. Big names like India Today, Outlook and The Week showed growth. For publishers, it was proof that print had not lost its charm in a digital India.

Then, just like a ship disappearing in the Atlantic, IRS was gone.

Inside the Triangle

We went inside the triangle with one simple question: Where is the IRS? 

Responding to the question, Anant Nath, Editor, Caravan Magazine and Executive Publisher, Delhi Press, said, “Honestly, I have no idea. I myself am wondering, where is it? I do not know. Maybe there was a methodology issue. Maybe they did not have the money. Maybe the business model was flawed. Honestly, I do not have an answer.” 

It was clear that this journey to locate the IRS in the Bermuda Triangle of Indian media was going to be difficult. 

Manoj Sharma, CEO, India Today Group, built on Nath’s responses and removed the “maybe” in his response. 

Charting out the trajectory of the IRS before it ceased to exist and laying out the primary roadblocks, Sharma said, “One is COVID-19. That took away two to three years. Before that, there were disagreements between publishers and the committee. 

The committee recommended some things, publishers had their own recommendations, and there was a debate on what to include and what not to include. That took a lot of time, too.”

A top media executive of one of the most prominent media houses in the country, who requested anonymity, blamed the magazines for the IRS becoming a ghost in everyone’s lives. “They started fighting over every little thing,” the media executive quipped.

Srinivasan Balasubramanian, Publisher, Ananda Vikatan, said, “I think what we need to understand is that the lack of IRS is as much a challenge for advertisers as it is for agencies, planners and buyers, as it is for the print (magazine) media.

The real problem is that there seems to be no meeting point between the affected parties. Perhaps the urgency one feels is not being reciprocated by others.

According to Srinivasan, it is the advertisers who need it the most and must therefore commission the survey at the earliest.

“We can keep crying ourselves hoarse, but unless the IRS is well funded and redesigned to reflect the realities of today's post-COVID media landscape, nothing will move.”

BestMediaInfo.com also reached out to advertisers to understand how the absence of the IRS is impacting media planning.

Rajiv Dubey, Vice President – Head of media at Dabur India, said, “Advertising dynamics have evolved substantially over the past few years. Today, brands increasingly rely on live, first-party consumer data to build their own audience cohorts and deliver sharper, faster, and more relevant communication. This allows for precision targeting that aligns closely with changing consumer behaviour.

However, he added that it is important to acknowledge the unique role that the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) has historically played. He said, “Before the pandemic, the IRS was the industry’s most comprehensive survey, offering unmatched insights into readership, media reach, and consumer profiles across markets. In today’s fragmented media environment, advertisers do find first-party data more actionable for immediate decisions. Yet, the hallmarks of the IRS, including broad trends, deep insights and a holistic understanding of the media landscape, are still greatly valued and, in many ways, missed.”

Chiming in from the agencies’ side, the newly elected AAAI President, Srinivasan K Swamy, said, “In my view, the main issue is that publishers are not supporting it with the necessary funding. That is why the process is stuck. Earlier, the cost was estimated at around Rs 20-25 crores, but as per the last I heard, the sample size has been reduced, so the cost should not be as high now.

Still, publishers seem content to let things drift. At the moment, many are happy to continue using old IRS data, which, in reality, presents far better numbers for them than what new data might reveal.” 

Finding IRS

The little tour inside the triangle is evidence of how stuck things are. But from what the industry experts say, it seems that the compass to find the IRS is, in fact, in the hands of the publishers. 

“80% of this game is played by the publisher and only 20% by agencies,” said a top agency head. 

While there is no sign of the IRS coming back anytime soon, industry experts believe the day will come. And when it does, industry experts have a few suggestions up their sleeve. 

To start with, India Today’s Sharma believes that it is high time for the IRS to include magazines. “IRS must focus on premium segments where magazines engage strongly. Numbers may be small, but those audiences are highly relevant because they have purchasing power,” he said. 

Sharma also highlighted that product linkage needs to be central to the survey, as it gives value to advertisers and agencies. “Product linkage gave advertisers and agencies a direct answer about who is likely to buy and how much purchase potential readers of India Today, Times of India or Hindustan Times carried. 

That is more useful to advertisers than readership alone because it links publications directly to purchase potential,” Sharma stated. 

The top media executive suggested publishers completely dissociate themselves from the IRS and let the body work independently. In addition, the executive suggested a subscription model for the IRS. “If I am a data company, the magazine wants something, the advertiser wants something, the client wants something. The agency will subscribe, the client will subscribe, and the publisher will subscribe. So it works on a subscription basis. That is how it should be.”

Dubey believes that there is an opportunity for IRS to evolve by integrating digital, Connected TV, and cross-platform consumption metrics. He added, “Such an approach would strengthen its relevance as a gold-standard reference point, complementing the precision of first-party data with the wider, panoramic view of India’s shifting media habits.”

Who will rescue the IRS from the triangle?

The Bermuda Triangle is not just a metaphor. The three corners are very real. Advertisers do not want to foot the bill alone. Publishers cannot agree with each other. Agencies complain about methods.

The result is that the last proper IRS is still the one from 2019. Since then, the print has been operating without a compass. For an industry that loves numbers, this is like driving with the headlights switched off.

Everyone agrees that print needs a trusted currency. Without it, magazines and newspapers have no proof to show advertisers. Without it, agencies rely on sentiment and gut. Without it, advertisers are left guessing.

But bringing the IRS back will need someone to take the wheel. The triangle will not solve itself. Will publishers lead the way, or will the IRS remain a ghost ship drifting since 2019?