The blind state of media metrics: Publishers unfazed by lack of data

Maybe newspaper publishers are right - if the biggest platforms and advertisers don't give a damn about data, why should publishers?

The Indian newspaper business is doing well. DB Corp, the publishers of Danik Bhaskar among other brands, posted an Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) of ₹703 crore on revenues of ₹2,482 crore in the financial year ended March 2024. That is a 28 per cent gross margin in a business that, in most parts of the world, is in decline. Much like DB Corp, across the board, newspaper publishers have had a good couple of years, thanks to falling newsprint prices and rising ad revenues.

 

That seems strange. The last Indian Readership Survey was done in 2019.