The readership base in India has grown from 163 million to 180 million, registering a growth of 10 per cent. Of the 180 million readers, as many as 48 per cent are from the nearly 6 lakh villages scattered across the country.
Newspaper
readership up, magazine reading down in India
The National Readership Study
(NRS) 2002, released on June 17, 2002 by the National Readership Studies
Council (NRSC) mapping media trends in India, has revealed that while the
readership of print media has grown by 10 per cent in the last two years, the
average television viewing time has come down from 85 minutes in 1999 to 82
minutes in 2002. It also puts the reach of the Internet at over 6 million in
India. As many as 20 per cent of Internet users now surf from home and 43 per
cent go to a cyber cafe. But magazine readership has declined.
The media survey covered over 500 publications and
included television, radio, cinema and the Internet base. A sample of 2.13 lakh
individuals were interviwed. The readership base in India has grown from 163
million to 180 million, registering a growth of 10 per cent. Of the 180 million
readers, as many as 48 per cent are from the nearly 6 lakh villages scattered
across the country. The study revealed that there is significant scope for
growth in readership as 248 million adults are literate but do not read any
publication.
The readership base for newspapers/dailies increased
from 131 million in 1999 to 156 million in 2002, an increase of 20 per cent
whereas the growth in the reach of dailies is much higher than the literacy
growth of 13 per cent in the same period. Language dailies that contributed
significantly to this growth included English (in the metros), Hindi, Marathi
and the clutch of newspapers from the south. The Assamese and Bengali dailies
also sustained their pace.
Interestingly, more urban housewives (21.7 million in
1999 and 25.4 million in 2002) now read a daily newspaper, at the cost of
magazines that is generally considered the staple diet for most women. One of
the more important findings of the study is the decline of audiences for
magazines both in urban as well as rural India. The reach of magazines has
declined from 93.8 million in 1999 to 86.2 million in 2002. Magazines have lost
22 per cent of their reach since 1999 when taking account the population growth
over these years. The erosion is mainly in the general interest,
film/entertainment and sports magazines, where the percentage decline on an
average is over 25 per cent.
Television commands a lion¿s share of the urban media
consumption, which is 72 per cent. However, there is a slight decline in time
spent on TV in this market. Despite the increasing programme options, the
average viewing time has come down from 85 minutes in 1999 to 82 minutes in
2002. But the good news is that access to C&S homes has jumped from 29
million homes in 1999 to 40 million homes in 2002 – a sprightly 31 per cent
growth, more than twice the growth of the TV market.
The time spent on traditional media shows a marginal
decline in urban markets with the urban adult averaging 13 hours a week as
compared to the 14 hours per week in 1999. In comparison, the time spent on
traditional media in villages is virtually half, that is, 6 hours per adult,
per week, which has been constant since 1999.
The decline in time spent on traditional media has
not affected much reading time in urban India. The average reader still spends
about 16 per cent of his total media time, which is 18 minutes per day, in
reading a daily or magazine.
(Sources: Indian Express and Agencyfaqs.com)