Indian Newspaper Society Urges IRS Withdrawal

The Indian Newspaper Society (INS) has rejected the findings of the latest Indian Readership Survey (IRS), following complaints by several of its members who claim the report contains 'shocking anomalies' and contradicts audited ABC circulation figures.

The IRS, which is produced by the Media Research Users Council (MRUC) and Readers Studies Council of India (RSCI), is used by advertisers and media agencies as a metric to determine which newspapers will provide the best advertising return. In 2012, RSCI/MRUC re-vamped the survey and awarded the contract to Nielsen. The latest edition used a sample size of more than 235,000 people across 160,000 urban households, and 75,000 households in rural India, and unlike data from the ABC (Audit Bureau of Circulations) which only contains circulation numbers, the IRS also provides demographic details and consumption patterns. In addition, the survey design has 'significantly' changed from previous rounds, with new data collection, sampling design, coverage and reporting breaks.

However, following roll out of the latest study in January, a group of eighteen newspapers have condemned the findings, saying the report is 'riddled with shocking anomalies which defy logic and common sense'. Among these 'anomalies' are that every newspaper in Andhra lost between 30% and 65% of its readers; English newspaper Hitavada in Nagpur with a certified circulation of more than 60,000 no longer has a single reader; and Punjab has lost a third of its readers. The group says that there are hundreds of such anomalies in the IRS report, and has told advertisers and media agencies not to rely on the findings.

Last week, the group urged the RSCI/MRUC to withdraw the results, and as this request has been rejected, INS has now waded in with its own attack on the survey. MRUC claims that audience measurement patterns will only begin to emerge once the first round of 2014 data is published, and that users of the study should not make comparisons with the old data on account of the 'superior methodology, advanced technology and greater statistical accuracy,' now in place.

The RSCI, which is a joint body of MRUC and ABC, has called a meeting on 19 February to discuss the issues.

Web sites: www.indiannewspapersociety.org and www.mruc.net .