Source: Indian Readership Survey 2014
Rural India is no longer a dark zone. It is getting lit up by new aspirations, and the new dreams are being powered by Media.
The trends are most noticeable when you compare IRS 2014 (Indian Readership Survey) findings with the IRS 2013 report.
The total media usage, according to the IRS 2014 report released by Media Research Users Council, has gone up by 211.84 lakhs, with the highest growth happening in print, followed by television and radio.
The spread of media footprint is not limited to Rural India. Small towns with a population of less than 5 lakhs are also witnessing a jump in media consumption.
Some of the important changes, media-wise, as brought out by IRS 2014 report, are:
Print media
a. Rural readership
- Total Readership grew by 31.9 lakh readers
- Hindi heartland provided an extra 24.8 lakh readers
- The vernacular papers gained 6.6 lakh readers
- English language newspapers gained 1.52 lakh readers
b. Readership in towns with less than 5 lakh population
- Total Readership grew by 20.52 lakh readers
- Vernacular papers grew by 12.46 lakhs in smaller towns
- Hindi newspapers grew by 8.5 lakhs
English newspapers could manage a growth of a meagre 0.8 lakhs
Television
a. Rural areas
- There was a jump of 1.5 lakh viewers in rural areas
- The TV ownership went up by an additional 25.3 lakh households.
b. Viewership in towns with less than 5 lakh population
- The small towns showed an increase of 2.7 lakh viewers.
Radio
a. Rural listeners
The listenership jumped by 10 lakhs
b. Listenership in towns with less than 5 lakh population
The growth was more modest at 1.9 lakhs
Rural India recorded similar increases in the field of Internet and Mobile phones.
The report reinforces the findings of the FICCI-KPMG Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2014. Rural India and small towns are the new media destination.
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