Call it the back to basics revolution if you will, but in this so-called age of the internet and cable television, India is witnessing a strange phenomenon. Defying international trends, the Indian newspaper industry is actually witnessing a healthy growth rate. Slow penetration and the cost factor have ensured that electronic media continue to play second fiddle to print. With industry eager to tap into the booming consumer market through print advertisements, Indian newspapers are engaged in a fierce contest to grab a part of the advertising pie. The epicentre of this raging media battle is presently the financial and entertainment capital of Bombay.
The Times of India (TOI) has enjoyed a virtual monopoly in the city, with daily sales of more than half a million copies. Distant runner-up Mid-Day, an afternoon tabloid, manages a circulation figure of one-third of that. Given that it was the only major Indian metro that lacked a "second newspaper culture," and given the large influx of English-reading migrants into the city, Bombay was ideally placed for a media outbreak.
The biggest challenge to the dominance of the TOI will come from the soon to be launched Daily News and Analysis, or DNA. The unusually named daily is backed by established companies in print and television like Dainik Bhaskar and Zee. DNA has a pre-launch kitty of INR 600 million and a war chest of INR 6 billion to combat the Times for the next four to five years. The paper's confidence seems to come from the fact that it is headed by former Times marketing chief Pradeep Guha, widely acknowledged as having scripted that paper's phenomenal marketing success across India. Guha now aims to unseat his old employer from its cozy Bombay nest.
Still a month and a half from its launch, DNA has already taken over the cityscape with a high intensity pre-launch campaign that includes over 500 billboards. "It is for the first time that the Times is facing the heat," says DNA marketing director Suresh Balakrishnan. But TOI, veteran of many a battle, is not taking the challenge lying down. It recently launched Mumbai Mirror, a tabloid aimed at deflecting competition and moving ad rates south, to hurt upstarts like DNA.