MEDIA: Indore-based Nai Duniya wants to become the third-largest player in the capital in three years.
At a time when newspapers are struggling with soaring newsprint prices and contracting budgets of advertisers, Indore-based Nai Duniya Media Ltd launched its flagship newspaper, Nai Duniya, in New Delhi on October 2. That’s not all. The Rs 100-crore company will shortly launch a new weekly magazine across nine locations including Mumbai.
Nai Duniya is a 62-year-old brand and is the second-largest newspaper group in the state of Madhya Pradesh after Dainik Bhaskar. The company also has a Hindi news portal called webduniya. The Delhi launch is by far its most ambitious foray ever.
“In Delhi, we want to be the clear number three player within the next three years and will strive to have a pan-India presence very soon,” says Vinay Chhajlani, chief executive of Nai Duniya, the 62-year-old regional newspaper brand. Chhajlani is known to have other Hindi-speaking markets like Mumbai, Patna and Chandigarh on his radar screen.
The Delhi market for Hindi general newspapers is estimated at over a million copies and generates advertisements of Rs 250-280 crore per annum. It is big but tough. Several newspapers are firmly ensconced in the market — market leader Navbharat Times from the stables of Bennett, Coleman & Co, Hindustan, Punjab Kesari, Dainik Jagran and Amar Ujala.
Chhajlani obviously has some plans up his sleeves to break the clutter and garner market share. He does not share it all but gives a glimpse of what readers can expect. For instance, Nai Duniya will focus on legal reportage in a big way. “Full-page on legal news and education, among others will give a definite edge to our content,” he says.
Also, Nai Duniya is priced at Rs 2, full one rupee below market leaders Navbharat Times and Hindustan. The company believes that in the regional language newspaper market, lower cover price is an advantage as it helps the paper get an entry into the existing homes. A radio campaign too has been launched to announce the new newspaper in Delhi.
Business Standard spoke to some media planners as Nai Duniya’s entry could grow the Delhi market further. “A choice in reach is always welcomed by the advertisers. We have learnt from the English newspaper market that the entry of a strong third or a fourth player only helps the market grow,” says a Gurgaon-based media planner.
According to sources, the company will make investments to the tune of Rs 150-200 crore towards its current expansion plans. Chhajlani, on his part, is non-committal on his investments. “Let’s say that I am adequately funded to bring out the paper in Delhi for the next three years. At that time, I look at advertising revenue of Rs 55 crore on a circulation of 180,000-200,000 copies,” he says.
Chhajlani is also looking at forging relationships with a Hindi television news channel. “We may not be looking at launching a news channel all by ourselves, but relationships with an existing news channel does interest our business plans.”
Interestingly, Nai Duniya has decided to go national at a time when its home market is under attack. Rajasthan Patrika recently entered Madhya Pradesh with two editions from Bhopal and Indore. Currently, Nai Duniya sells about 600,000 copies in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and generates annual advertising revenue of Rs 50-55 crore. These numbers are bound to face new challenges now. Expansion to new markets could be a hedge against that.
