Mumbai: MRUC (Media Research Users Council) today announces the release of IRS 2019Q2 data. The 2019Q2 data is a rolling average of the last 2 quarters of IRS 2017 (Q3+Q4) and the first two quarters of IRS 2019 (Q1+Q2). IRS 2019Q2 fieldwork covers April 2019 through July 2019. The reporting sample size for this data is 3.36 Lakh Households.
The report reveals that Reach of print, television, radio and cinema vis-à-vis the previous IRS quarter, largely remains unchanged. Internet as a notable exception continues to grow. Consumption of news on digital platforms is on the rise. And whilst Total Readership (TR) of publication remains steady, Average Issue Readership (AIR) has seen a marginal decline.
Declining AIR of Hindi and Regional Dailies:
The decline of AIR between Hindi and Regional dailies are visibly a continuing trend while the English dailies managed hold itself without any fall in AIR. Compression of Read Yesterday – AIR between IRS 2017, IRS 2019Q1 and IRS 2019Q2 shows that the All India AIR percentage of Hindi dailies had fallen from 7.2 to 7.1 to 6.7 per cent respectively, while Regional dailies has fallen from 8.7 to 8.4 to 8.1 respectively.
Similarly, the AIR percentage of Hindi dailies in URBAN markets had fallen from 10.7 to 10.5 to 10.1 per cent respectively, while Regional dailies in URBAN has fallen from 14.9 to 14.1 to 13.5 per cent respectively.
The declining trend was similar in Rural AIR of Hindi and Regional dailies while English dailies managed to hold on with neither growth nor drop in its AIR.
Commenting on the release of IRS 2019Q2 data, Ashish Bhasin, CEO – Greater South and Chairman & CEO – India, Dentsu Aegis Network and Chairman, MRUC, said, “Firstly I must thank the MRUC Board and the IRS TechCom for their steadfast dedication in providing the industry with a timely and robust study. The findings of IRS 2019Q2 gives us a clear picture of the reality we all know – that digital is on a roll and continues to grow at a faster pace. Print readership remains healthy and I firmly believe the future lies in the power of two and not just one.”
“I am very pleased to see IRS release every quarter. Not only is the IRS back on track, but has emerged much stronger and is being universally accepted as the currency for readership in India”, stated Mr Bhasin.
Vikram Sakhuja, Group CEO Madison Media & OOH, Madison World and IRS Technical Committee Chairman, added, “We are very pleased with the quality of data that is being released this quarter. India is consuming more media than ever before. Internet is now fast catching up with Print and these two along with TV are the dominant mediums that can be used to reach consumers.”
In terms of Magazine Readership, the TR and AIR of Magazine remained unchanged across India.
Top Hindi dailies like DainikJagran and Hindustan were visibly reflecting the declining trend with their TR and AIR dropping considerably. The TR of DainikJagran has dropped from 73673 in IRS 2019Q1 to 72559 in IRS 2019Q2. The AIR of DainkJagran has fallen from 20256 (IRS 2019Q1) to 18146 (IRS 2019Q2)
The TR of Hindustan has dropped from 54696 in IRS 2019Q1 to 52866 in IRS 2019Q2. The AIR of Hindustan has fallen from 18422 (IRS 2019Q1) to 15716 (IRS 2019Q2)
