India: Publishing Industry Page 1 of 6
India: Print and Publishing Industry
Aliasgar Motiwala September 08
Summary While print may be losing out to television and the Internet in other countries, in India the print media industry (including newspaper and magazine publishing) is buoyant and is expected to grow at a 13 percent cumulative annual growth rate over the next five years. With readership (222 million adult readers) growing at a fast pace, the industry is estimated to almost double from its current size of US$ 3.2 billion to US$ 5.80 billion by 2011. This growth is being attributed to two distinct factors; Indian government liberalizing laws pertaining to foreign investment in Indian publishing companies and the Indian economy’s fast growth in English-educated middle-class citizens with increased disposable incomes. Global media companies are now eyeing the Indian market and are actively seeking entry through collaborations and joint ventures. A number of Indian versions of international publications (franchises of the original) have entered the Indian market, including Elle, Cosmopolitan, Scientific American, Good Housekeeping and Maxim. Growth in India’s print and publishing sector is assured in the years to come due to the growth in the literacy levels in both urban and rural India. Laws to protect intellectual property (IP) rights are also now in place in India. Although enforcement of the laws at local levels needs drastic improvements, IP theft in India is much lower as compared to other emerging markets. Consequently, interested American publishers should consider entering the Indian market.
Market Demand The vibrant Indian print industry, comprised of newspaper and magazine publishing, generates a turnover of around US$ 3.20 billion annually and ranks third in the world in number of English publications per year (after the United States and United Kingdom). According to estimates in a report published by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers, this industry is projected to grow from its present size to around US$ 5.80 billion by 2011. Lower cover prices, spreading literacy and rising incomes have translated into rapidly growing newspaper and magazine sales. Including several new publications released in recent years, both the newspaper and magazine industries are expected to show a healthy growth rate as provided in the table below.
Reach (# of readers)
Newspaper 204 million
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Magazine 68 million
Total print media 222 million export.gov 800-USA-TRADE
India: Publishing Industry Page 2 of 6 Size current (2006) in US$ Size estimated (2011) in US$
2.79 billion 5.04 billion
0.32 billion 0.76 billion
3.20 billion 5.80 billion
Leading print media players are enjoying revenue growth of between 20 and 30 percent, contrary to the worldwide trend of print losing to television and the Internet. Print continues to dominate advertising revenue in India. Its market share is almost 50 percent, which amounts to US$ 1.95 billion. Source: The Indian Entertainment and Media Industry 2007 – FICCI and PricewaterhouseCoopers
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India: Publishing Industry Page 3 of 6
Market Data A booming Indian economy, growing need for content and government initiatives that have opened the sector to foreign investment are factors driving growth in the print media. With the literate population on the rise, more people in both rural and urban areas are reading newspapers and magazines. The industry has a potential to grow still larger as 360 million people in India are do not subscribe to any publication. The National Readership Study 2006 (NRS 2006), conducted annually in India by the National Readership Studies Council, is the largest survey of its kind in the world. One of the main objectives of this survey is to estimate the readership of publications. The study covers 535 publications (of which 230 are dailies and 305 are magazines) and provides a very good view of the readership patterns in India and future trends. Some key findings of the NRS 2006 follow.
• • • • • • •
The reach of the press medium (dailies and magazines combined) has increased from 216 million to 222 million between 2005 and 2006. As a proportion, however, press reach has stabilized in urban India at 45 percent and in rural India at 19 percent. Dailies have driven growth in the press medium, with their reach increasing when measured as a proportion of all individuals aged 12 years and above. Magazines have declined in reach from 9 percent to 8 percent over the last one year. Time spent reading has increased in urban India (from 41 to 44 minutes daily) and decreased slightly in rural India (from 36 to 35 minutes daily). Literacy as measured in the NRS 2006 has risen slightly to 71 percent, giving an additional small boost to publishers. Press (dailies and magazines combined) added 7 million readers over the last year. Apart from news and politics, sports is the topic of most interest among readers, and is followed by coverage of films and television soap operas. Detailed findings of the NRS 2006 survey are available on http://www.hindu.com/nic/nrs.htm
Best Prospects As readership increases in India, the demand for foreign publications has expanded as well. Import statistics for printed books and newspapers for the past two years follow: Imports 2005-2006 2006-2007
$ (in million) 372 450
% change 30 21
Source: Monthly review of the Indian Economy, Center for Monitoring Indian Economy – June 2007 The following offer opportunities to U.S. companies interested in tapping the Indian market:
• • • •
Books Newspapers Magazines
• • •
Printing equipment Printing technology Content sharing
Journals
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India: Publishing Industry Page 4 of 6
Prospective Buyers The major importers and suppliers of U.S. books/magazines/newspapers in India are: • India Book Distributors (Bombay) Ltd (India’s largest importer) • Aditya Books (P) Limited, New Delhi • Affiliated East-West Press Pvt. Limited, New Delhi • Allied Publishers Limited, Mumbai • Capital Book Pvt. Limited, Calcutta • India Book House Pvt. Limited, Mumbai • Narosa Book Distributors Pvt. Limited, New Delhi • UBS Publishers and Distributors Limited, New Delhi The top 5 dailies and magazines in India (readership), according to NRS 2006, follow: Dailies Name Dainik Jagran Dainik Bhaskar Eenadu Lokmat Amar Ujala
Magazines Nos (‘000’s) 21165 20958 13805 10856 10847
Rank 1 2 3 4 5
Name Saras Salil India Today – English Vanitha Grihashobha – Hindi Kungumum
Nos (‘000’s) 7139 5150 4115 3788 3698
Rank 1 2 3 4 5
Note: The Times of India is the world’s most read daily newspaper in the English language with 7.4 million readers.
Market Entry The entertainment and media industry has benefited significantly from India’s liberal investment regimes. The print medium, in particular, has become one of the favorite segments for overseas investors with maximum overseas investment within this industry. Joint ventures and licensing of titles from international publishers are daily coming to the newsstands and local publishers are also talking to each other to start joint publications. In this industry, 100 percent foreign direct investment (FDI) is now allowed for non-news publications and 26 percent FDI is allowed for news publications. India now permits the printing of facsimile editions of foreign journals. This policy is helping journals save on the cost of distribution while effectively servicing the Indian market. Over the last year, in order to cater to evolving reader interest, the Indian newspaper and magazine industry has seen several cooperative efforts with foreign publishers as follows: Overseas publication Financial Times (U.K.) Haymarket Publishing (U.K.) for Autocar Maxim (U.K.) Reed Business Information (51:49 joint venture) Independent News and Media (Ireland) Newsweek
Indian partner Business Standard Sorabjee Communications Media Transasia (license agreement) Infomedia India (formerly Tata Infomedia) Jagran Prakashan (26 percent owned by overseas partner Outlook Group (for facsimile edition)
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India: Publishing Industry Page 5 of 6
In addition, several other specialty magazines with international collaborations have or will be launched in India, as follows:
• • • • • • •
Marie Claire magazine was launched in partnership with the Outlook Group. Infomedia India launched UK’s gadgets magazine T3 under a licensing agreement. Wolters Kluwer announced its plans to get into the business of printing and publishing scientific journals and magazines in India. UK based publishing company Parragon formed a joint venture in India for launching 250 books ranging from children’s to reference books. The Conde Nast group of the United States has decided to bring its two best known magazines, Vogue and Glamour, to India through a 100 percent subsidiary. The TimeWarner group-owned Fortune announced its plans for publishing in India Cambridge University Press acquired 51 percent of Foundation Books Private Limited Another major deal took place in 2006 when Warburg Pincus, through its affiliate Cliffrose Investment, bought into in a local publishing house Dainik Bhaskar.
Market Issues & Obstacles The Copyright Act 1957 governs copyright protection in India. The basic features of this Act are in harmony with the provisions of the two international conventions on copyrights: the Berne Convention (1886) and the Universal Copyright Convention (1952). India has been a member of both of these conventions since its independence in 1947. The Act has undergone three important changes since its enactment in 1957. The Act was substantially amended in 1983 and 1984 and its provisions were updated to keep in step with the technological developments and to afford effective protection of the publishers’ rights. The main thrust of the 1983 amendment was to take advantage of concessions for instructional purposes provided in the revised Paris Text of the Berne Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention in favor of the developing countries. In 1984, the Act was amended with the specific purpose of enhancing penalties for infringement of copyrights in order to combat large-scale piracy of copyright protected works. In 1987, the Indian Government set up a working group to study the provisions, keeping in view the developments in communication technology. The group also had the mandate to examine why the stringent anti-piracy provisions incorporated in 1984 amending Act had not worked effectively. They developed a comprehensive bill enacted as the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1994 that came into force in May 1995. The Act provides: (1) A statement of works which will enjoy the protection of the law; (2) a definition of the person who shall enjoy such protection; (3) a statement of the nature and the extent of protection; (4) assignment of the copyright; (5) legal remedies available to a copyright owner for enforcing his rights; (6) a list of exceptions outside the purview of copyright; and (7) statutory arbitration in cases of dispute. For legal remedies, the Act provides a dual course of legal options to the aggrieved party: (1) through the Registrar of Copyrights and the Copyrights Board and (2) through the courts. A person whose copyright is violated can institute necessary civil and criminal proceedings in the appropriate court in India. Although laws to protect intellectual property (IP) rights are also now in place in India enforcement of these laws at local levels needs drastic improvements. In addition to the protection provided by the law, publishers have also started taking their own steps to protect their IP. A recent example is Penguin Books India (publishers of the Harry Potter series) who have hired a legal team to prevent piracy of their new books. Vigilance cells were set up around the country to ensure immediate action, should a case of piracy be reported. In addition, the services of leading
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India: Publishing Industry Page 6 of 6 intellectual piracy investigators have been retained to keep a watch on known offenders and pirate business locations.
Trade Events Kolkata (Calcutta) Book Fair February 1-28, 2007 (dates to be confirmed) Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata http://www.kolkatabookfaironline.com/index2.php
Mumbai (Bombay) International Book Fair 16th - 20th January 2008 http://www.internationalbookfair.com/
Resources & Contacts Mr. S.C. Sethi, President The Federation of Publishers’ & Booksellers’ Associations in India 84, Second Floor, Darya Ganj, (Opp. Cambridge Primary School). New Delhi -110002 Phone: 91-11--23272845,23272215 Fax : 23281227 E-mail:
[email protected] Website: http://www.fpbai.org Mr. Hormusji N. Cama, President Indian Newspaper Society INS Building Rafi Marg New Delhi 110001 Phone: +91 11 23715401 (12 Lines) Fax: +91 11 23723800 Email:
[email protected],
[email protected] Website: http://www.ins.org.in/index.html Reference: The Indian Entertainment and Media Industry Report - Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers
For More Information The U.S. Commercial Service in Mumbai, India can be contacted via e-mail at:
[email protected]; Phone: 91-22-22652511; Fax: 91-22-22623850; or visit our website: http://www.buyusa.gov/india/en/
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[email protected]. Please include the name of the applicable market research in your e-mail. We greatly appreciate your feedback. Disclaimer: The information provided in this report is intended to be of assistance to U.S. exporters. While we make every effort to ensure its accuracy, neither the United States government nor any of its employees make any representation as to the accuracy or completeness of information in this or any other United States government document. Readers are advised to independently verify any information prior to reliance thereon. The information provided in this report does not constitute legal advice. International copyright, U.S. Department of Commerce, 2007. All rights reserved outside of the United States.
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