Internet's growth fails to dent TV and print appeal

<p>NEW DELHI: The television and print media are holding their own </p><p>despite the rapidly-growing popularity of the internet, according to </p><p>findings of the seventh Indian Readership Survey (IRS). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Conducted by research house Org-Marg, IRS findings showed that </p><p>television has a reach of 49.3 per cent in the country of about one </p><p>billion people. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The urban and rural press reaches 33.4 per cent, while the figures for </p><p>radio and cinema are 15.85 and 9.7 per cent respectively. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Although internet penetration has been growing rapidly in India, the </p><p>research found that the number of web users was still small - 4.19 </p><p>million - representing less than one per cent of the total </p><p>population. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Industry observers said the internet's appeal as an advertising medium </p><p>was still limited as its access was concentrated in the big cities and </p><p>among more affluent families. Much of the country, they pointed out, was </p><p>still mired in poverty. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>State-owned Doordarshan leads the television race, with a 41 per cent </p><p>share of the market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Hindi language newspaper Dainik Bhaskar was the most widely-read </p><p>newspaper with a readership of 11.2 million, while the English language </p><p>Times of India placed 10th with 5.95 million readers. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>IRS 2001 covered a sample size of more than 220,000 people, with a total </p><p>of 741 towns and 2,475 villages surveyed. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Around 100 companies subscribe to the survey's research on 500 </p><p>products. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The majority of the subscribers are advertising agencies and media </p><p>houses and the rest are large advertisers such as packaged goods </p><p>companies such as Lever, Procter & Gamble and Colgate. However, IRS </p><p>cannot provide adspend data, said agencies. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>C. V. L. Srinivas, chief operating officer of Madison Communications, </p><p>said: "Real figures on media spend are difficult to come by because of </p><p>the huge gap between published rate cards and negotiated rates on </p><p>different media. Our best estimate says that the media spend growth in </p><p>India has been coming down over the years. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Last year it was around 12 to 15 per cent, and this year, it is </p><p>expected to be much lower at five to eight per cent." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ad agencies estimated that as much as 40 per cent of India's advertising </p><p>inventory is left unsold each year. They said the size of the unsold </p><p>inventory provided advertisers with a major leverage factor, accounting </p><p>for the large gap that exists between published and negotiated </p><p>rates. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>India's annual adspend is estimated to be US$1.8 billion and </p><p>growing at between three and five per cent each year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>