Internet's growth fails to dent TV and print appeal

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

Sign In

Trouble signing in?

Reset Password: Click here

Contact Customer Support at

Customerservice@campaignasia.com