| Though in terms of total revenue, countries such as Japan, China, Australia and South Korea are bigger than India, their newspaper publishing market will grow at a slower pace. |
| The PriceWaterhouseCoopers' Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2004-2008 report that came up with the findings states that India's newspaper market will grow from $ 1,869 million in 2004 to $ 2,404 million in 2008. |
| In the report, the newspaper publishing market refers to spending by advertisers and readers on daily print newspapers. The spending by readers includes both news-stands sale and subscriptions. The category does not include community and other weekly papers or the online editions of newspapers. |
| India's growth rate in the category will be much higher than the average rate of growth in the Asia-Pacific region in the next four years. |
| The newspaper publishing industry in the region is expected to expand at a 2.7 per cent compound annual rate from $ 40.4 billion in 2003 to $ 47.3 billion in 2008. The US market, however, is expected to grow by about 3.4 per cent to touch $ 53.2 billion in 2008. |
| The report expects to see new newspaper launches in the Asia-Pacific region thanks to the advertising market reviving to an extent. After a two-year decline, newspaper advertising rebounded in 2003 with a 5.7 per cent increase. |
| Advertising for newspapers in India, however, grew in excess of 20 per cent. Advertising in Indonesia and China also grew at a similar rate. Though Japan accounts for nearly 49 per cent of newspaper advertising in the region, it will register only a 1.7 per cent rise in advertising by 2008. |
| The report says that government initiatives will have an adverse impact on the newspapers in China while steps taken by the Indian government may help expand the market. |
| In 2002, the Indian government changed its media policy and relaxed foreign ownership restrictions in the newspaper category. Today, 26 per cent foreign equity holding in news-related print media is allowed, though editorial management must remain Indian. To boost the sector further, in November 2003, full foreign holdings were permitted in printing plants in designated economic zones. |
| India's increased ability to attract foreign capital, may act as the springboard for many new editions in the country. The report states that ever since the new media policy was put in place, UK's The Financial Times has acquired a stake in Business Standard, Dow Jones is expected to own a 26 per cent stake in The Wall Street Journal venture in India and Henderson Global has acquired a 20 per cent stake in Hindustan Times. The developments are expected to trigger a circulation spending growth in India to average 4.8 per cent compounded annually for the next five years. This is said to be the fastest growth rate among all the countries in the region. |
| In China, the government withdrew newspaper subsidies and the practice of mandatory purchase of newspaper subscriptions in order make them financially independent of the government. |
| Under the new rules, provinces are permitted to fund only two publications and cities are permitted to fund only one. Government funding for several papers has been cut leading to their closure. |
| The report says that better economic climate and new technologies will help publishers offset the adverse impact of increased use of Internet and television for news, information and entertainment. |
| Digital printing, for one, is helping publishers print and deliver editions to other markets in time. Besides, publishers are also using the Internet to enrol new subscribers for their papers, especially in India and China. Unit circulation in India jumped 23.9 per cent in 2003 while it grew by 8.6 per cent in China after a double digit growth in the last five years. |
| Overall, the world newspaper publishing market grew by 1.5 per cent in 2003, reversing the two-year decline. However, newspaper will continue to lose share to other media. |
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