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The latest Indian Readership Survey (IRS) data released by the Media Research Users Council (MRUC) vindicates the growing clout of  the print media. The Quarter 1 data of the IRS, which incidentally is the world’s largest readership survey, shows daily newspapers to have added 1.8 crore additional readers since IRS 2017.

 Magazines have acquired 90 lakh new readers. Hindi dailies alone have acquired 10 million new   readers, while the readership of English language dailies have grown more modestly, reaching out to 0.3 crore more readers during the period.

The IRS 2017, which was published after a gap of four years, had reaffirmed the power of print. The survey showed that print players had added 11.2 crore readers across four years, taking the overall print readership to 40.7 crore, which has now reached 42.5 crore.

These numbers defied digital pundits who had predicted the demise of the print media and its growing irrelevance. If IRS 2017 marked the resurgence of print, the last survey confirms that the printed word on paper is here to stay.

If we look at the cumulative numbers of the IRS data of 2017 and 2019, some definite patterns emerge, of  which the foremost is the rise of  the vernacular Press. Hindi and language publications continue to lead the growth in print, while magazines have demonstrated a sustained growth.

In 2014 some publishers had complained of  “shocking anomalies” in the IRS data. Both IRS 2017 and IRS 2019 adopted a methodology that was a stiff departure from those used earlier. They have relied on an increased sample size, used new technology and a new standard of field controls. The IRS will now begin releasing quarterly data, which has been a longstanding demand of industry stakeholders. It  will not only help advertisers get more relevant data, but also help publications relook at their growth strategy in a more realistic way.

“I am extremely satisfied with the release of this round of IRS. In particular, we have used technology to infuse a totally new standard of field controls. The resultant data is robust and representative of the diversity and heterogeneity of our wonderful country. Overall Media consumption and Print, in particular, is vibrant and growing. Most stakeholders should be encouraged with this snapshot of how India is consuming media and print,” said Vikram Sakhuja, CEO, Madison Media and OOH and member of  the IRS Technical Committee.

While print may be losing to digital in the rest of the world, the Q1 IRS data re-establishes that in India it is poised to thrive and  celebrated in the years to come.