IRS Q4 2010 | Deciphering market-wise growth & de-growth

The Indian Readership Survey 2010 Quarter 4 data was released by Media Research User's Council (MRUC) on the 14th of March 2011. Though the top-line did not shown much of a change and the dailies across languages saw an average change in readership numbers compared to Q3.

In terms of total readership the English dailies this time around saw growth in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. While a steep decline in potential markets like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Orissa and West Bengal has followed.

This quarter Bengali dailies have lost around 63,000 readers compared to the last quarter. The state of West Bengal alone has lost around 97,000 readers. On the other hand Assam has contributed to about 6.9% growth over the last quarter by adding 65,000 readers.

Gujarati dailies have lost around 51,000 readers. The state of Gujarat has seen around 0.5% de-growth, while Maharashtra has added 27,000 readers. Surprisingly the Nashik market has added 2,000 readers compared to the last quarter and seen a 50% growth.

The Kannada daily category has added a good number of readers to its total readership. By adding 253,000 readers the category has grown by 1.5%. Karnataka as a market has added about 266,000 readers. However in the state of Karnataka itself the category has seen de-growth in Bangalore and Hubli.

Malayalam dailies have grown by 1.7% and added around 387,000 readers. Except for Kerala contributing to the growth in total readership numbers, Delhi and Karnataka have also added more readers.

The Marathi daily category has added around 24,000 readers. The state of Maharashtra has itself lost around 99,000 readers. A close look at markets across the state reveal that Pune a potential market for the category has lost around 7,000 readers. On the other hand, Aurangabad has added around 17,000 readers. Surat and Belgaum have been important growth centres for this category.

Tamil dailies have grown by 0.1% and added about 17,000 readers. While Tamil Nadu has lost 177,000 readers, Andhra Pradesh has added around 88,000 readers. Maharashtra has seen growth by 113.3% for this category and added about 85,000 readers.

Lastly, Telugu dailies have seen a potential growth this quarter. The category has overall added around 509,000 readers. Orissa a potential market last quarter for the category, this time around has lost 6,000 readers and seen de-growth of 15%. The state of Karnataka and Maharashtra have added around 14.7% and 8.1% growth respectively. | By Prabha Hegde [prabha(at)adgully.com]