TOI readership grows 17% in Nagpur

Even as doomsayers make dire prophecies about the print media in the west, newspapers are going from strength to strength in India, powered by the leader, The Times of India. TOI's average issue readership (AIR) grew by 1.66 lakh --from 70.88 lakh to 72.54 lakh -- across India in the third quarter of 2010 compared to the previous quarter, according to the latest Indian Readership Survey (IRS). It also reclaimed the number one slot in the Delhi National Capital Region, with an AIR of 21.38 lakh against 21.36 lakh for Hindustan Times.

TOI Nagpur edition's readership grew 17% from 70,000 to 82,000. In Mumbai, TOI witnessed a 5% surge in AIR, growing from 14.78 lakh in the second quarter of 2010 to 15.59 lakh in the third quarter. This increase of 81,000 readers further widens its huge lead over the competition and ensures that it continues to have a significantly bigger readership than all other English language broadsheets put together in Mumbai. TOI's editions in Bangalore and Ahmedabad too showed robust growth.


While TOI Bangalore's AIR rose 6% from 3.30 lakh to 3.50 lakh, TOI Ahmedabad's increased 23% from 86,000 to 1.06 lakh. Other TOI editions that posted growth included Goa (from 65,000 to 70,000), Pune (2.04 lakh to 2.09 lakh), Jaipur (79,000 to 85,000) and Kanpur (40,000 to 48,000). Other Times Group publications too fared well. The AIR of The Economic Times increased by 45,000 (6%) from 7.53 lakh to 7.98 lakh all-India, with ET Mumbai growing by 18,000 to clock 1.85 lakh readers. In Delhi NCR, the AIR of Navbharat Times rose from 18.27 lakh in the previous quarter to 18.98 lakh, on the brink of the 19-lakh mark. And in Mumbai, Maharashtra Times grew by 19,000 readers to post an AIR of 9.90 lakh.