By IANS,
Kolkata: Despite a sharp drop in circulation in print media worldwide, newspapers in India are growing rapidly and would continue to expand over the next several years, Prasar Bharati Chief Executive Officer Jawhar Sircar said here Saturday.
Quoting a FCCI and KPMG report, Sircar said television will grow by 18 percent, radio by 16.6 percent, and print by 8.7 percent by 2017.
He said print circulation has dropped worldwide but not in India. Indian print media have shown a rapid growth whereas global paid dailies have lost their importance.
“Global print circulation is falling. It’s not falling, actually it’s thudding down, but with India it is going up, that means India still has an appetite for the print media,” said Sircar.
He said readership had gone up in India because of the rising rate of literacy.
In contrast, newspaper revenues have plummeted in the US where the rapid drop had led to newspaper offices being shut down. “Whereas in India, print media revenues have increased,” he said.
Sircar said the television channels in the country have grown by leaps and bound. “Presently there are 848 channels on air, leading to air anarchy.”
There were 541 radio stations in India now, with the figure set to climb to 1,110 in the next few years.
“With the growth in numbers, the revenue from radio will shoot up to Rs.2,740 crore in 2017, from Rs.1,400 crore now,” he said.