We Will Expand Our Tv Offerings, But Won't Enter The Gec Space

In a candid chat with IMPACT, DD Purkayastha, Managing Director & CEO, ABP Group, talks about the group’s performance and key focus areas to ring in the next phase of growth.

- Samarpita Banerjee

When Ananda Bazar Patrika (ABP) launched in the year 1922, it was a four-page evening Bengali daily which was priced at two paise, with a daily circulation of about 1,000 copies. Today, four years shy of celebrating its centennial year, the ABP Group has transformed into a media behemoth and diversified its business to include more newspapers, magazines, television news channels and digital properties.

Headquartered in Kolkata, the group’s stronghold lies in its regional offerings. Ananda Bazar Patrika still remains one of the most widely circulated newspapers in the state, despite the coming in of national players. Some of its most popular magazines include Desh, Sananda, Anandalok and Anandamela. Each of the magazines have a circulation ranging between 30,000-60,000.

However, while the latest Indian Readership Survey (IRS) 2017 revealed that the Print medium will continue to witness growth and that regional print will eventually drive growth for the medium, how is the print business of the ABP Group doing? DD Purkayastha, Managing Director & CEO, ABP says that while English readership is falling, the group is in good shape because its Bengali newspaper is still a strong property.

When asked about the growth of its print business, he adds that the Bengali newspaper is growing at a low double digit rate, while English Print witnessed negative growth, even till the first quarter of this year.