Business daily market gets new player

SOUTHERN MEDIA SCENE - III

If you thought the Indian business newspaper market was crowded, think again. Till a couple of years ago, there were four financial dailies in the country (including Business Standard).

A fifth (DNA Money) appeared on the scene in Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Indore a couple of years ago, followed by the more ambitious Mint (from HT Media) last year. Now there is a seventh "" Financial Chronicle (FC) "" which came out with its first issues on Wednesday in Chennai and Hyderabad. More FC editions are expected in the coming days.

FC's launch adds to the action in a feverish southern market that has seen The Times of India launch its Chennai edition earlier this week, The Hindu cut its cover price and The New Indian Express revamp itself to take on the new competition.

Meanwhile, Deccan Chronicle (the flagship brand of the Hyderabad-based group that has brought out FC) is said to be readying a Bangalore launch. 
 

FIGHT FOR THE TOP SLOT
Business Daily#	Average net paid sales
The Economic Times*	750,621
Business Standard	170,378
The Hindu Business Line	146,925
# FE, DNA Money and Mint are not in the purview of ABC Audit *The circulation of The Economic Times on Saturday not included Source: Audit Bureau of Circulation, July-December 2007

The 16-page FC's strategy repeats the one followed successfully by Deccan Chronicle in the Chennai market "" a low entry price of Rs 1.50. It is reliably understood that the publishers of the new paper intend at a suitable stage to offer both Deccan Chronicle and FC at a discounted 'combo' price, repeating a strategy that has been followed by The Economic Times and The Times of India in many cities.

Deccan Chronicle's managing director, P K Iyer, said with the combined circulation of financial papers adding up to barely one million, in a country with a population of over 1.2 billion, he does not expect any problems in selling FC.

"People will even buy half a cup of coffee if it is offered for Rs 1.50. At this price, the product will sell," he asserted.

With an inaugural print run of 70,000 copies, he would like to get his numbers vetted by the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) as soon as possible. Among the existing titles, only three subject themselves to this audit.

Meanwhile, rival publishers are skeptical. "The field has gotten crowded. In most parts of the world, there is only one large financial paper. Others tend to be very regional," said Ravi Dhariwal, CEO (Publishing) of Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd, which publishes India's largest-selling financial daily, The Economic Times.

"We have many national mastheads like Business Standard, The Economic Times and Business Line and many more are to come. Unless these are well differentiated I don't think there is much chance," Dhariwal said.

He pegged his argument on consumers not willing to buy more than one or two papers, which in turn is based on the assumption that readers are willing to give only 25-30 minutes a day for papers.

In contrast, other industry observers are willing to bet on the success of the new entrant.

Media consultant and author of The Indian Media Business, Vanita Kohli-Khandekar, said: "With the economy growing at over 8 per cent, there is a big demand for information. The current business papers have hardly skimmed even the top 50 cities and towns in the country."