India Today English and India Today Hindi have been ranked as the most-read magazines in the IRS 2017 data. The former has a total readership of over 79 lakh, and latter is subscribed by 71 lakh readers. This amounts to the highest and second-highest magazine readership in India.
Meanwhile, Business Today has been ranked the most-read Business Magazine in IRS 2017 with a total readership of 13.15 lakh. This puts Business Today ahead of the competition with a huge margin. It is also the only business magazine to make it to top-ten magazines across segments in IRS findings. Business Today has secured the top spot among business magazines in the past IRS surveys as well.
"... for those who think magazines are passe, there is breaking news for them. Readership of magazines in the country has now topped 78 million, an increase of 95 percent over the 2014 figure of 40 million," said Aroon Purie, Chairman and Editor in Chief, India Today Group.
He also mentioned that the cumulative readership of India Today English and India Today Hindi is ahead of the best selling English newspaper in the country and five times the second best selling newspaper in India, which 'makes us the most formidable news brand in the country'.
The IRS is a study of the print media readership published by the Readership Studies Council of India (RSCI), an industry body jointly formed by the Media Research Users Council (MRUC) and the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC). The latest IRS 2017 report covers a full year sample size of 3.2 lakh households. It has been conducted after a gap of around four years.
"Delighted to see the IRS set global benchmarks in sample size, design and tight monitoring. Very encouraged to see that the survey reinforces what we've always believed in. The magazines are far more relevant now than in the preceding years and the age of the discerning media consumer has returned. To have India Today as the most read magazine is very satisfying. To top it, India Today Hindi is a close 2nd to it's sibling India Today English, and Business Today continues to be undisputed number one adds to the motivation of the team at India Today Group," said the India Today Group Chairman.
He further said, "It makes me happy and validates my belief that good editorial works. The cross media comparison really helps us gauge the real headroom for each of the brands and there is every reason to believe that the print medium is still a very strong force to reckon with. Increasingly more relevant as consumer seeks clarity in the midst of the information explosion."