Mid Day inks marketing pact with Express group

Mid Day Multimedia has entered into a marketing alliance with the Express group for increasing advertising revenues.

Mid Day, which publishes an eveninger in Mumbai, is announcing its new advertising rate card that includes a strategic tie-up with the latter's newspaper brands- The Indian Express and the Marathi- Loksatta.

While addressing an investor's meet, Tariq Ansari, managing director said, " The combined readership of the three newspapers is around 2 million which would make it impossible for any media planner or advertiser to ignore us."

The Express group is a strategic investor in Mid Day holding around 10 per cent stake. Mid Day has currently 23 types of advertising rate cards and the new rates would be effective for certain categories only, Ansari added.

Mid Day is exploring the idea of launching new editions in major metro cities. Though he did not give time frame, Ansari was hopeful that by the end of this financial year, there should be a development on this front.

The company had recently announced its fourth quarter results where it had posted a net loss of Rs 93 lakhs while registering a 28 per cent rise in net sales at Rs 9.7 crore over the previous year. Mid Day announced that it will concentrate more on its core business of news.

It has entered into an operational alliance with the US based Clear Channel for outdoor advertising which eventually will turn into a 50:50 joint venture.

It's private FM radio station in Mumbai Go 92.5 has posted a 62 per cent growth in revenues. Ansari stated that depending on the telecom regulatory authority of India (TRAI) recommendation on the arbitration of the revenue sharing model, whether to apply for multiple licenses or exit the business would be decided. The company also plans to take on low risk TV production.