Print media consumption grew 6.5% in 2014

The Media Research Users Council (MRUC) and the Readership Study Council of India (RSCI) have issued the top line data of the latest Indian Readership Survey (IRS), which showed that in 2014 media consumption grew 3.12 per cent over 2013.

The print media consumption grew at 6.54 per cent, with Dainik Jagran retaining its spot as the leading publication in terms of average individual readership (AIR) of 16,631,000. The pecking order of the top three publications remained unchanged, with Hindustan at number two (AIR: 14,746,000) followed by Dainik Bhaskar at number three (AIR: 13,830,000). The Times of India (AIR: 7,590,000) moved down a spot to number eight, was replaced by Amar Ujala (AIR: 7,808,000), which stood at number seven.

The dailies dominated the list of top-read publications in the country, with all the top 10 spots occupied by them in 2014.

Among the English dailies, The Times on India continued to lead the lot, and has managed to widen the gap between it and its closest competitor Hindustan Times (AIR: 4,515,000). In 2013, the gap between the two was 2,919,000, while in 2014, this gap increased to 3,075,000 AIR. The only English daily to see a drop in readership in 2014 was the Deccan Herald from 458,000 in 2013 to 442,000 in 2014.

The Malayala Manorama continued its grip on the number 1 spot among vernacular dailies, with a readership of 8,803,000 in 2014, followed by the Daily Thanthi at 8,283,000. While the Matrubhumi did see a marginal dip in readership (6,020,000 in 2014 against 6,136,000 in 2013), it continued to hold the third spot.

Telangana has been added as a separate state and a full sample of 238,000 has been considered at an all-India level. This includes 162,000 urban households and 75,000 rural households.