In Darwin’s theory of evolution, media, much like humans, has evolved from print to radio to television to digital. “Change is at the core of evolution,” Martin Dansky, a Canadian actor, said. Media has also evolved and adopted digital as the medium of choice. The smartphone boom and the deployment of accessible and affordable 4G and 5G networks have taken the country by a digital storm. According to a report by Deloitte, India is set to have approximately one billion smartphone users. Due to this, digital transformation within India has been accelerated and digital as a medium has evolved compared to print media, so much so that print magazines have also gone digital. “Several magazine brands are extremely strong and have leveraged this strength across extensions like events, community building, digital products, etc. This has helped increase revenue sources, as well as engage in a more relevant manner with audiences across their specific areas of interest,” Ashish Pherwani, leader- media and entertainment, EY, told BrandWagon Online.
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Digital newspapers and magazines are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4.71%. It is projected to reach a revenue of Rs 125.1 crore by 2028, as per market intelligence platform, Statista.
The transition to digital has been a long time coming as digitisation has permeated across industries. According to industry experts, while print has its charm and sheen, digital provides more volume and scale. There is a particular number of magazines put into print for consumers. However, post the transition to digital, the reach has increased since most of the people living in India have a smartphone in today’s day and age. “I think all media brands today exist and are present on the internet, the question is no longer about mere presence. The bigger question is that are they thriving in a world where creators and opinion leaders have a means to connect directly with audiences,” Angad Bhatia, CEO, Mensxp.com, said.
The print media in India has been around for a long period, its origins dating back to 1785, published by the British government called Oriental Magazine. One of the biggest earners for print magazines is advertising. According to an EY-FICCI report, advertising in print media grew by 13% while circulation grew by five percent in 2022. Furthermore, the share of advertising to the total income of the print segment stood at 67% in 2022. The top five categories consisting of FMCG, education, auto, real estate, home improvement and retail contributed to approximately 53% of ad revenue.
2022 proved to be a tough year for digital as digital revenues for publishers remained between five to seven percent of its physical print revenues on average. According to industry experts, the transition to digital has also evolved with the web being the first avenue and now social media and video formats slowly emerging. For instance, the annual subscription of GQ – the print version is priced at Rs 999, while the digital is just marginally less at Rs 900. Interestingly, the annual price for both its 1,200.
Additionally, there are different streams of revenue that digital boasts of. Industry experts opine that subscription and advertising are two of the many revenue streams that digital platforms boast. Social media, branded content, and video production are just a few of the many revenue streams for digital. “Business models will become more complex and more 360. It is different platforms and revenue streams and the intersection of each of these provides a new opportunity,” Alex Kuruvilla, a senior media expert, said.
Potential obsoletion for print?
While there are doubts and uncertainties surrounding the existence of print magazines and newspapers, the bottom line is that it is going to be around for a long period, as per experts. The print media has made a comeback, according to EY-FICCI report, recording a 16% increase in the volume of ad insertion. Additionally, many publishers – mainly for regional language publications – opted for an increase in cover prices in 2022. “Even though digital is growing, it is an extension of print media. It was introduced in order to keep up with the times and audience. Digital gives a publication a wider young audience and readership. However, it will not be at the expense of print,” Anant Nath, director, Delhi Press and editor, The Caravan, said.
Industry experts opine that publishing articles on online portals has not worked out for a lot of magazines. As magazine content inclines towards being a feature piece, naturally lends itself to being paywall content. While the content is charged for by the publication houses, it necessarily does not perform well.
While digital can provide volume and scale to the content, print has a better way of displaying it. “High impact categories like luxury and lifestyle, like the Conde Nast group magazines like Vogue and GQ, can provide an experience which is difficult to emulate in digital due to the physicality of the magazines. There is a tactile feel to it so when you see a luxury good in the glossy pages and the environment of content in these magazines is a very different environment as compared to digital,” Kuruvilla, explained.
According to Nath, one of the biggest challenges of print media has been its issues of circulation. He claims that the circulation of print magazines is far below its potential which has in turn led to a shift in reader consumption to digital mediums. While there is a larger market for print products, the traditional channels of distribution have shrunk, courtesy of the pandemic. Earlier, subscription deliveries were expensive and the reader did not necessarily get the magazine but now, with robust tracking systems, subscription deliveries are easily accessible which has led to publication houses cutting losses in print magazine subscriptions.
Despite of the continuous debate of print and digital, both of them are set to coexist. Digital will not replace print mediums as both mediums cater to different audiences.
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