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Most publications do not feel that the efforts that had been taken to build their credibility and readership were manifested in IRS Q2.

According to P. Sridhar Chief General Manager, of Sakshi Newspaper, “We are of the opinion that Sakshi has put in great efforts to make the paper read by all sections of society across Urban / Rural areas in Andhra Pradesh. Circulation has been steadily growing (awaiting Jan-June ABC figures) but readership is not matching with the growth in circulation. However we are happy to note growth in readership in Q2”
While this is the case with most, many are of the opinion that the efforts taken for magazines are not reflected in the report at all.

Varghese Chandy General Manager, Marketing Operations of Malayalam Manorma said, “In the case of our news paper, yes our efforts have been showcased but in the case of magazines no! The quarterly rounds are supposed to check the volatility of the data. Unfortunately we do not see the same happening in the case of magazines”

“It is unfortunate that IRS is downgrading magazines with almost every round. It definitely impacts our credibility and business both financially as well as psychologically.” Said Indranil Roy, President of Outlook group.

To have more accurate and authentic IRS reports, many feel that adequate sample representation must be considered.

Jalwant Swaroop Director of advertising and business development at Lokmat stated, “IRS is a credible and authentic data. However since the media buying environment needs a holistic approach there are certain new aspects which are emerging and I am sure IRS may soon be addressing those”

Roy is of the opinion that IRS can be enhanced by creating a separate research for magazines. “A magazine survey should be more of a qualitative study than a quantitative study. The issue is not about quarterly results the issue is about the way the genre is being negatively impacted year upon year due to bad research quality”, he further adds.

While Chandy said, “Overall sample size worries us, especially the rural sample size. This seriously affects the magazines whose geographic spread is much wider than newspapers”
Subsequently most in the industry feel the magazine facet of the IRS has not been appropriately considered, although their publications have shown favorable results.

Sridhar says, “Although we are happy to note that Sakshi has recorded growth in readership in Q2 but it does not correspond to the growth in circulation. Net paid sales of Sakshi has grown by 8-9% in circulation but disappointing to note that readership has not grown proportionately. Region wise break up also shows that there are lots of regional imbalances which will be brought to the notice of MRUC appropriately.”

Chandy further adds “While Malayala Manorama readership growth is in line with the circulation growth, magazines readership is not in line with the circulation growth. In 3 months such volatility is unwarranted.”