Dainik Jagran, Bhaskar are top two: Survey

The findings of the second round of the Indian Readership Survey (IRS) conducted by Hansa Research and the Market Research Users Council (MRUC)show that while there has been an increase in the overall media consumption in the country, the frequency and the actual time spent has in fact declined over the last few years. All categories expect the internet have registered a decline in average time spent. While readership of the dailies has gone up by 23 per cent, magazines have in fact registered a 10 per cent drop in readership.

The findings of the survey reveal that there is no change in the leadership position among the top ten dailies in the country with Dainik Jagran and Dainik Bhaskar being the top two with a claimed readership of 536.3 lakhs and 293.6 lakhs respectively. The Times of India is the only English language daily to feature among the top ten with a readership of 131.4 lakhs displacing Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi.

In the top news channels, there has been an upset with Aaj Tak claiming the top spot with a viewership of 505.1 lakhs displacing DD News which recorded a viewership of 488.9 lakhs. Among the general channels however, Doordarshan still holds on to the number one position. Star Ananda has moved from the thirteenth slot to the eighth with a viewership of 30.1 lakh.

Vividh Bharati now ranks as the number one radio station in the country with a listenership of 661.4 lakh, displacing the primary channel.

Within magazines, Saras Salil retains the top position with a readership of 155.6 lakhs. India Today is the only English language magazine to feature in the top ten, retaining its number six position. Among the top language dailies the top four slots are occupied by Hindi language publications, with Daily Thanthi moving up one rank at number five. This survey was carried out across a sample size of 2,50,357 respondents over a fieldwork period of July 2005 to July 2006, taking January 1, 2006 as the mid point.