Published on: Dec 31, 2012 by Aparna Dutt Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, IBEF

At a time when the global print media industry is expected to take a back seat as compared to the digital media in the coming years, the print media industry in India is expected to deliver earnings at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17 per cent during FY 2013-15, as per a recently released report. The current size of the print media industry is estimated at INR 22,000 crore (US$ 4 billion).

Whilst reader’s affinity in India is increasing towards the digital medium as well, the huge market size offers ample opportunities for both the media channels to coexist. For instance, vernacular markets alone account for 30 per cent of ad revenues in the print media industry whilst English is the largest segment with 40 per cent ad revenues and the rest is with the Hindi language. It is no secret that the print media industry is heavily dependent on the ad revenues as only 30 per cent revenue comes from circulation and the balance 70 per cent is from advertising.

The expected growth in the domestic print media industry is another example of the various opportunities India offers to the domestic and international companies.