The shift is small, but perceptible. The English-language print media, for the first time after independence, has started feeling the heat.
The Hindi and vernacular media are encroaching upon its advertising pie, and it is only a question of time before the advertisers start giving the non-English media its proper due.
The FICCI-KPMG Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2013 first indicated this small but significant shift.
According to the report released in 2013, the share of print media business by language was: English: 37%, Hindi: 32% and Vernacular papers: 31%.
The report projected that in five years’ time – that is by 2018 – this will change. The share of English publications will come down to 31%. In contrast, the Hindi publications will tighten their grip with their business share rising to 35%. The vernacular publications too will move ahead of English. Their business share will rise to 34%.
The FICCI-KPMG Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2014 released last month confirm the changes. In 2013-14, the advertisement revenues of the vernacular publications jumped by 11.8% while that of Hindi publications rose by 9.8%. The English publications could register a growth of 4.8% only.
The projections over the next five years only reinforce the trend. The ad pie of vernacular publications in 2019 will be INR 104 billion; the Hindi publications will garner INR 92 billion while the English publications will manage INR 83 billion, and concede their pre-eminent position.
Why is this change happening?
Why is the English press losing its stranglehold? There are three key reasons why the English media is conceding ground to the language press:
Reason 1
New markets: The Tier II and Tier III cities have emerged as an important expansion area of language publications. These cities are very attractive to advertisers because the disposable incomes in these cities are rising fast. They need a medium to take their message to the new customers, and this is where the language press has become a valuable ally. The readership in these cities is in languages; and that is why the language press has started prospering in these cities.
Reason 2
Growing literacy: It is not only the disposable incomes that are rising in Tier II and Tier III cities. Literacy and aspirations too are on the rise. There is a new hunger for information, and the language press is taking full advantage of the situation.
Reason 3
Better Technology: The new printing technology has made it possible for language press to foray deeper into the countryside. They are taking full advantage of satellite transmission to transmit print-ready pages to small cities, where they are printed and distributed.
The English-language media finds itself limited to metros, state capitals and large towns, areas where its circulation has already peaked. It can only hope for marginal increase in sales at these centres, and finds itself unable to compete with the language press in the emerging markets.
It is now for the language papers to translate the advertising rupees into more professional products, something that has been missing so far.