TOI tops again, checkout IRS' other hits and misses

On the other hand, three dailies saw a sharp decline in their average readership, the Deccan Chronicle lost 67 percent of its readers - falling from the fifth to the tenth spot (10.2 lakh to 3.37 lakh)

The Telegraph slipped to the fourth spot with its average readership falling by 26 percent (9.37 lakh vs. 12.65 lakh) and The Hindu's readership fell by 32 percent (14.73 lakh from 21.67 lakh)

The Times of India held on to its number 1 spot despite a loss of 3.62 or nearly 5 percent of its readers (76.15 lakh to 72.53 lakh) followed by HT at number 2.

In other lists - Dainik Jagran remained the most widely read daily despite losing 5 percent of its readers (1.55 crore from 1.63 crore)and Hindustan jumped to the second spot at the back of a 16 percent growth (1.42 cr vs 1.22 cr).

Daily Thanthi and Rajasthan Patrika were the other two big gainers growing at around 11 percent and 12 percent respectively while Amar Ujala and Lokmat fell by 16 percent and almost 24 percent respectively.

Shantanu Bhanja, VP - Marketing, HT Media says, “One has seen publications which have gone into new areas and expanded, maybe because of the inertia of the old IRS that was not getting reflected, there is almost a fresh start. There is a sense that I as a publication which has made those investments or someone who has grown into a new state, I am getting a real capture because it’s not lagged by old data.”

Media houses are clearly encouraged by the new IRS, which has increased sampling in smaller towns across India. They say, this will not only encourage publications to increase editions and improve yields but also bring in new advertisers who will be able to target their consumers better.