1.

1 BRIEF HISTORY OF THE INDUSTRY

The history of the mass media industry can be traced back to the days when dramas
were performed in various ancient cultures. This was the first time when a form of
media was "broadcast" to a wider audience. The first dated printed book known is the
"Diamond Sutra", printed in China in 868 AD, although it is clear that books were
printed earlier. The movable clay type was invented in 1041 in China. However, due to
the slow spread of literacy to the masses in China, and the relatively high cost of paper
there, the earliest printed mass-medium was probably European popular prints from
about 1400. Although these were produced in huge numbers, very few early examples
survive, and even most known to be printed before about 1600 have not survived. The
term "mass media" was coined with the creation of print media, which is notable for
being the first example of mass media, as we use the term today. This form of media
started in Europe in the middle ages.

Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the printing press allowed the mass production of
books to sweep the nation. He printed the first book, a Latin Bible, on a printing
press with movable type in 1453. The invention of the printing press gave rise to some
of the first forms of mass communication, by enabling the publication of books and
newspapers on a scale much larger than was previously possible. The invention also
transformed the way the world received printed materials, although books remained
too expensive really to be called a mass-medium for at least a century after that.
Newspapers developed from about 1612, with the first example in English in 1620; but
they took until the 19th century to reach a mass audience directly. The first high-
circulation newspapers arose in London in the early 1800s, such as The Times, and
were made possible by the invention of high-speed rotary steam printing presses, and
railroads which allowed large-scale distribution over wide geographical areas. The
increase in circulation, however, led to a decline in feedback and interactivity from the
readership, making newspapers a more one-way medium.

The arrival of photography changed the media scene. In 1862, Matthew Brady held an
exhibition of photographs he had taken of the U.S. Civil War. Shocked Americans stood
and stared at Brady’s images of the dead at the Battle of Antietam. The New York
Times noted that Brady brought “home to us the terrible reality of war.” (A similar

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impact was observed when Americans saw films of the war in Vietnam being beamed
into their living-room televisions).

The phrase "the media" began to be used in the 1920s. The notion of "mass media" was
generally restricted to print media up until the post-Second World War, when radio,
television, and video were introduced. The audio-visual facilities became very popular,
because they provided both information and entertainment, because the color and

sound engaged the viewers/listeners and because it was easier for the general public to
passively watch TV or listen to the radio than to actively read. In recent times, the
Internet becomes the latest and most popular mass medium. The information has
become readily available through websites and easily accessible through search
engines. One can do many activities at the same time, such as playing games, listening to
music, and social networking, irrespective of location. Whilst other forms of mass media
are restricted in the type of information they can offer, the internet comprises a large
percentage of the sum of human knowledge through such things as Google Books.
Modern-day mass media includes the internet, mobile phones, blogs, podcasts and RSS
feeds.

During the 20th century, the growth of mass media was driven by technology, including
that which allowed much duplication of material. Physical duplication technologies such
as printing, record pressing, and film duplication allowed the duplication of books,
newspapers, and movies at low prices to huge audiences. Radio and television allowed
the electronic duplication of information for the first time. Mass media had the
economics of linear replication: a single work could make money. An example of Riel
and Neil's theory, proportional to the number of copies sold, and as volumes went up,
unit costs went down, increasing profit margins further. Vast fortunes were to be made
in mass media. In a democratic society, the media can serve the electorate about issues
regarding government and corporate entities. Some consider the concentration of
media ownership to be a threat to democracy.

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1.2 BUSINESS PROCESS OF THE INDUSTRY

The mass media process consists of a progression of stages by which a message is

transmitted from sender to receiver. The usual process of the mass media industry
includes sender, encoding, message, channel, and receiver, decoding, and feedback. The
mass media process also entails some sequential steps to transmit a message. However,
the process of mass media is somewhat different from interpersonal communication or
face-to-face communication process. Researchers have identified four elements of the
mass media process. These are -

 Source: The mass media process begins with a specific source that has a
message. The source can be an individual, an institution, a company, or a
government.

 Communicator: The second element of the process is the communicator who

collects a message from the source. The communicator has also termed the
encoder. He plays a vital role in the mass media process. He is a professional,
trained and experienced person who develops the message in a way that the
intended receiver can understand. A very simple piece of information may get
enormous appeal to the audience due to the communicator. The communicator
may be a reporter, journalist, lyricist, scriptwriter, author, official spokespersons,
and so on.

 Message: Message is the actual information or news to be communicated to the

audience. The message may be a movie, a novel, a recovered song, and a
billboard advertisement.

 Channel: The channels are the mass media. These are the vehicles that transmit
the message to the audience. Media of mass communication are newspapers,
magazines, posters, lifters, radio, television, films, etc.

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  Editor: Once a message is developed and the channel of transmission is selected,
it is handed over to the editor. An editor is also an expert person. He controls the
channel of mass communication. He also reviews the message of the
communicator to ensure the successful transmission of the message through the
selected channel.
 Audiences: Audiences are the ultimate recipient of the message of mass
communication. They are large, diverse, and heterogeneous. Audiences differ
about their education, age, gender, income, profession, social status, geographical
location, religion, beliefs, values, opinions, etc. some of the audiences receive the
message directly while others indirectly. It is also seen that some audiences are
attentive while some are inattentive.

In the mass media industry, feedback or reaction of the audience can occur in
numerous ways. The receivers can send their response either to the communicator or
the source of information or to the editor. If the communicator gets the receiver's
feedback, he sends it to the sources of information through another channel. In the same
way, the editor can also send the receiver's response to the communicator by employing
another medium. The receivers can also exchange their responses to each other. The
feedback or reaction of the audiences depends on their learning, experience, ideologies,
and group affiliations. Audiences of mass communication are likely to exhibit diverse
reactions to the same message.

1.3 MARKET DEMAND AND SUPPLY

The Indian media industry is a sunrise sector for the economy and is making significant
strides. Proving its resilience to the world, the Indian Media industry is on the cusp of a
strong phase of growth, backed by rising consumer demand and improving revenue by
supply. The industry has largely been driven by increasing digitization and higher
internet usage over the last decade. The Internet has almost become a mainstream
media for entertainment for most people.

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Media is consumed by audiences across demographics and various avenues such as
television, films, out-of-home (OOH), radio, animation, and visual effects (VFX), music,
gaming, digital advertising, and print.
India's media industry is expected to expand at a CAGR of 3.24% between 2019-20 and
2021-22 to reach US$ 25.56 billion by 2021-22 due to the acceleration of digital
adoption among users across geographies.

Broadcasters witnessed a growth of 13% in FY20 to reach annual revenues worth Rs.
420 billion (US$ 5.75 billion). Share of the subscription revenues in the overall revenue
of broadcasters rose from 32.4% in FY19 to 37.7% in FY20.
The online music market in India is expected to surpass US$ 273 million by end-2020.
In 2020, India's mobile gaming segment registered a market size of US$ 1.2 billion and
is expected to increase at a CAGR of 6.1% by 2025. The country posted average revenue
of US$ 8.8 per user, with a user penetration rate of 10.1%.

In 2020, the television market size stood at Rs. 778 billion (US$ 10.66 billion) and is
estimated to reach Rs. 769 billion (US$ 10.53 billion) by 2022. TV
According to the Media industry 2020, India is likely to emerge as the world’s sixth-
largest OTT (over-the-top) streaming market by 2024. The market is expected to post a
CAGR of 28.6% over the next four years to generate revenue worth US$ 2.9 billion.

CONTRIBUTION TO GDP

India’s Mass Media industry continued its strong growth through 2019, growing at a
percent faster than the Indian economy. Television still reigns supreme, but digital is
playing catch up.

Interestingly, the subscription model had a bumper year in 2019, with EY reporting
staggering revenue growth of more than 100%. EY observes a similar pattern, with
significant growth in digital media, to the point that it performed better than filmed
entertainment in India. This is even though India's film sector recorded its best-ever
domestic revenue levels last year, driven by the successful launch of Bollywood
blockbusters. Last year amongst other projects, surveyed both a cross-section of

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printers and converters (across geographies, segments, and size) and a purposive
sample of leading printers and converters (middle and big) on the relevance of India’s
GDP growth rate to their own company’s growth. The results were surprisingly similar –
70% said there was a direct correlation, and 6% said there was an indirect impact.

Overall, the sector grew by nearly 9%, outperforming GDP growth for last year which
was at just under 8%. However, this is not accounting for changes that have come about
due to the Covid-19 crisis. Much like other economies across the globe, India’s GDP
growth forecast has been reduced considerably in the wake of the crisis, which will
undoubtedly have an impact on every sector.

Under current lockdown conditions, the media & entertainment sector could benefit
from significant growth in consumption as the industry needs to cater to the needs of
information-hungry Indians. But, as it stands, it remains too soon to determine the exact
economic impact of the pandemic.

REVENUE GENERATION

Media revenue models

One of the most important aspects of media is the fact that the media industry is just
that: an industry. Most media producers and outlets are commercial, with the main
objective of making money. There are several methods or "revenue models" that media
companies use to make money. The four most common revenue models are discussed
below.

Advertising

Advertising is the most common of all revenue models in traditional media and online.
TV shows, newspapers, and websites offer their content (programming, news stories,
etc.) at no charge (or at a low price) to attract a large audience. Advertisers wanting to
promote the products they're selling pay the media outlets, who in turn place ads in
between their content for the audience to experience.

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Advertising is most commonly used in media outlets that 1) can't cover their entire
costs just by selling their content (like newspapers and magazines), and 2) would have
little to no audience if they charged (or charged more) for their product. For example, a
newspaper would never sell at $5 per copy, and you wouldn't pay $30 for a movie ticket,
so advertising is there to subsidize the cost.

Subscription

Subscriptions are great for media types that are continually being updated - think a
newspaper, a magazine, or cable TV - or have some kind of ongoing value - think
websites like LinkedIn or informational databases. Subscriptions are popular with
media companies because they provide steady revenues over time. This revenue model
doesn't work with media considered a commodity - something you can get elsewhere
for little to no cost. An example of a media commodity is news - you can get it all over
the web, so paying for a subscription to a news website means that the site should
provide significant value beyond the common news found elsewhere. The Economist
and the Wall Street Journal are examples of news websites that offer significant value
beyond what you might find for free on Google News.

Pay-per-item

The pay-per-item model works for media types that come in an individual package, offer
no ongoing value, and are sustained through sales alone. An example of this is a pay-
per-view movie on cable, a movie ticket at your local theater, or a CD or DVD.

Merchandising

Media companies use merchandising as a secondary, or ancillary, income. This is

popular with recognizable media franchises whose fan base would want to purchase
related items. An example might be the merchandising efforts of a company like Disney,
which produces and sells merchandise for all of its big-budget movies and TV shows.
Many times, merchandising efforts earn more income than the media product it
references. For example, the original Star Wars movies earned more income through
merchandising than through ticket sales.

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1.4 LEVELS AND TYPES OF COMPETITION

Pure or perfect competition

Pure or perfect competition is a theoretical market structure in which the following

criteria are met: All firms sell an identical product (the product is a "commodity" or
"homogeneous"). All firms are price takers (they cannot influence the market price of
their products). Market share does not influence prices.

Monopolistic competition

Monopolistic competition is a type of imperfect competition such that many producers

are competing against each other, but selling products that are differentiated from one
another (e.g. by branding or quality) and hence are not perfect substitutes.

Oligopoly competition

A competitive situation in which there are only a few sellers (of products that can be
differentiated but not to any great extent); each seller has a high percentage of the
market and cannot afford to ignore the actions of the others.

Indirect competition

Indirect competition refers to a business whose products or services are different from

yours but potentially could satisfy the same need and reach the same goal. And
they compete with your brand and join in on the fight for customers' attention.

Direct competition

Direct competition is a situation in which two or more businesses offer products or

services that are essentially the same; as such, the businesses are competing for the
same potential market.

FIRMS OPERATING IN THE INDUSTRY

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 INTERNET

 Amazon
 Google
 Netflix
 J D.com
 Facebook

BOOKS

 Penguin/Random House.
 Hachette Book Group.
 Harper Collins.
 Simon and Schuster.
 Macmillan.

MAGAZINES

 A360media.
 AARP.
 ABC Publishing.
 Ablex Publishing.
 Active Interest Media.

MOVIES

 Warner Bros
 Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group.
 Walt Disney Studios
 Fox Star Studios
 Matinee Entertainments
 Zee Studios

NEWSPAPERS

 The Indian express

 The New York Times Company.

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 Daily Mail and General Trust
 Sinclair Broadcasting Co.
 Malayala Manorama

RADIO

 BBC
 Brewer Media
 Clear Channel
 Radio Mirchi
 Radio Mango

RECORDINGS

 Sony Music Entertainment

 Universal Music Publishing Group
 Warner Music Group
 Island Records
 T-Series

TELEVISION NETWORKS

 Star World
 Sun TV
 Zee TV
 HBO
 Asianet

1.5 PRICING STRATEGIES IN THE INDUSTRY

Premium pricing strategy

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Premium pricing is a strategy that involves tactically pricing your company's product
higher than your immediate competition. The purpose of pricing your product at
a premium is to cultivate a sense in the market of your product being just that bit higher
in quality than the rest.

Value-based pricing strategy

Value-based pricing is a technique for setting the price of a product or service based on

the economic value it offers to customers. This pricing strategy allows companies to
capture the maximum amount that a customer is willing to pay to significantly improve
company profits.

Penetration pricing strategy

Penetration pricing is a marketing strategy used by businesses to attract customers to a

new product or service by offering a lower price during its initial offering. The
lower price helps a new product or service penetrate the market and attract customers
away from competitors.

Competitive pricing strategy

Competitive pricing is a pricing strategy in which the competitors' prices are taken into

consideration when setting the price of the same or similar products. Competition-
based pricing focuses solely on the public information about competitor's prices, not
customer value.

Market-oriented pricing strategy

Setting a price based upon analysis and research compiled from the target market. This
means that marketers will set prices depending upon the results of the research.

1.6 INDUSTRIAL PERFORMANCE

IN GLOBAL BASIS

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The Global Mass Media industry, one of the largest in terms of revenue and market size,
which is– including TV, film, newspaper, movies, radio, publishing, music, etc. As per
some estimates, the industry is said to be the largest globally, clocking in revenues to
the tune of US$ 735 bn annually, contributing approx. a third to the global M&E
industry. The industry is under the transformation phase with both the traditional and
the emerging models continue to coexist led by multiple devices and platforms,
digitization as well as globalization of services which have remodeled the entire media
segment over the past decade.

The industry has witnessed strong growth led by the increasing personalized media
interactions demanded by today's consumers - who are highly choosy, enthusiastic, and
very demanding in the way they would like to consume content based on their choice of
medium, context, schedule, and preferences. Internet - has been the key to both the
industry's growth as well as guided it to evolve continuously. As is common knowledge,
the internet has been a major disruption in terms of how people consume content,
thereby spearheading a fundamental shift in both content production as well as
consumption. While the global media market is expected to grow to US$ 2.6 trn by the
year 2023, digital services are said to account for a growing share of the industry's
revenue (refer to the chart below). Digitization of the mass media industry has, in many
ways, threatened the traditional setup. For instance, with the new wave of the
popularity of recordings and video streaming, advertisers, as well as other publishers,
are increasingly moving to digital platforms. In fact, as per PWC's Global Entertainment
& Media Outlook Report 2019-2023, in 2018, revenue earned from mobile internet
advertising exceeded its wired equivalent for the very first time. Further, the report
suggests that by 2023, it is estimated that marketers would allocate more than ~50% of
their marketing budgets to digital advertising. With increasing internet penetration,
mobile video internet advertising has become increasingly critical in comparison to
wired display. These trends are backed by the increasing shift towards mobile data
consumption which is estimated to exceed that of fixed broadband in the year 2020.

IN NATIONAL BASIS

Indian Mass Media industry has tremendous scope for growth in all the segments due to
rising income and evolving lifestyle. Media is consumed by audience across

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demographics and various avenues such as television, films, radio, magazines,
recordings, and music, India's Mass Media industry is expected to expand at a CAGR of
3.24% between 2019-20 and 2021-22 to reach US$ 25.56 billion by 2021-22 due to
acceleration of digital adoption among users across geographies.

Within the industry, the Publishing sector is growing at a rate of ~29%, while the
audiovisual sector and services are rising at the rate of ~25%; is recognized as one of
the champion sectors by the Government of India.

India’s advertising revenue is projected to reach Rs. 789 billion (US$ 10.81 billion) in
FY22 from Rs. 726 billion (US$ 9.94 billion) in FY20. India’s advertising revenue is
forecast to expand at a CAGR of 4.3% between FY20 and FY22. Digital advertisement
revenues are likely to outweigh TV advertising revenues by FY21; an achievement
previously projected to occur only by FY23. Digital advertising emerged as the second-
largest advertising medium in India; generated revenues worth Rs. 199 crore (US$ 2.73
billion) in FY20.

In 2020, the television market size stood at Rs. 778 billion (US$ 10.66 billion) and is
estimated to reach Rs. 769 billion (US$ 10.53 billion) by 2022. TV broadcasters
witnessed a growth of 13% in FY20 to reach annual revenues worth Rs. 420 billion (US$
5.75 billion). Share of the subscription revenues in the overall revenue of broadcasters
rose from 32.4% in FY19 to 37.7% in FY20 to post a CAGR of 28.6% over the next four
years to generate revenue worth US$ 2.9 billion.

According to the Media and Entertainment Outlook 2020, India is likely to emerge as the
world’s sixth-largest OTT (over-the-top) streaming market by 2024. The market is
expected to post a CAGR of 28.6% over the next four years to generate revenue worth
US$ 2.9 billion.

IN REGIONAL BASIS

To fully recognize the political, economic, and cultural significance of this shift toward
regionalization in the narrative conventions, technological transformations, and

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distribution logics of the Indian media industries, a brief clarification on the definition
of regional media in India would be in order. The term regional media in many contexts
around the world refers to a transnational constellation of media industries and
cultures related to a shared set of geolinguistic traits.

In India, however, the term regional media is traditionally used to describe an intra-

national or sub-national category of media produced in the many regional languages
spoken within India. Media produced in Hindi—particularly in cinema and television—
are considered “national” since Hindi is the “national” language. But in other contexts,
Hindi media—particularly in print journalism—are considered “regional” in contrast to
English media, which circulate predominantly in urban areas and are extremely
influential among the political, economic, and cultural elites in the metropolitan centers.
Since most states within India are linguistic states, regional media in India are usually
defined about the geographic boundaries of the states and the dominant languages
within those states.

The growth story of regional media in India, as discussed in many industry reports in
the 2020s, is indeed impressive. However, a more interesting account that emerges
from these industry reports is of the key players in the media industries now imagining
the media markets in India almost entirely through a regional framework.
Understanding the emergence of regionalization as the framework for the business
practices of local media companies in India.

1.7 PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES IN THE INDUSTRY

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By the term “Media”, we generally understand that it is a medium by which some
content is shared by the creator to its audience. The Mass Media industry is committed
to quality and highly adept in identifying new opportunities and challenges.

The industry has grown exponentially due to digitization and internet usage in the last
decade. The Internet has turned out to be a convenient medium for entertainment for
most people; across demography and through various means, from the retro to the most
advanced ones, such as the radio, theatre, print, television, cinema, newspapers, music,
magazines, etc.

Since the industry is growing at such an unpredictable rate, it becomes difficult for the
players to keep up with the expectations of the users. One of the most important hurdles
is to handle the pressures to cut the expenses while improving revenue. While multiple
small platforms are stepping in, the traditional monarchy of one big company is fading
away. Since a new player is introduced in the market every day, and the customer needs
as well as the delivery of content of their preference is highly fragmented, it paves way
for the media industry to implement big data and data analytics technology to gain more
insightful viewer perception. 

2.1 BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ORGANISATION

1838

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On November 3, 1838, the first edition of The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce
was published, reflecting the business community of Bombay. It was a bi-weekly
publication. Dr. J.E. Brennan was the Editor.

1850

Shareholders decide to increase the share capital and the paper is converted into a
daily.

1859

Bombay Standard and Chronicle of Western India merges into The Bombay Times and
Journal of Commerce to form Bombay Times & Standard.

1861

Editor Robert Knight amalgamates The Bombay Times & Standard and Bombay
Telegraph & Courier to form The Times of India - giving it a national character.

1892

T. J. Bennett becomes the editor and enters into a partnership with F.M. Coleman to

form a joint-stock company - Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. (BCCL).

1996

The Times of India crosses 1 million marks in circulation. It also carries the first-ever
color photograph.

1947

Exclusive Sunday edition of Times of India launched in Mumbai. The company also
launches its Hindi daily – Nav Bharat Times in Delhi.

1950

The Times of India launches in Delhi.

1952

Filmfare launched.

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1959

Femina launched.

1961

The Economic Times is launched.

1962

Maharashtra Times launched.

1988

Times of India complete 150 years. A special stamp was released by the Government of
India to commemorate the occasion.

1996

The Times of India crosses 1 million marks in circulation. It also carries the first-ever
color photograph.

1997

BCCL enters into the music market with Times Music.

1999

India times web portal launched; BCCL enters music retailing business with Planet M.
Also operates the first-ever private FM broadcast through Times FM (which later
becomes Radio Mirchi).

2000

The Times of India crosses the 2 million mark in circulation.

2005

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Launch of a Matrimonial website Times Matri – later rebranded as Simply Marry.
Mumbai Mirror, the city-centric daily tabloid launched in Mumbai.

2007

Launch of Bangalore Mirror, Ahmedabad Mirror, ET (Gujarati), and What's Hot – a

premier weekend entertainment supplement. The Times of India becomes the largest
English daily in the world with circulation breaching the 3 million mark and beating the
Sun (tabloid) of the UK.

2008

Launch of ET (Hindi), Pune Mirror, and The Times of India editions at Jaipur, Goa, and
Chennai. Acquisition of Virgin Radio (now rebranded as Absolute Radio) in the UK.

2009

TOI Crest edition launched. Launch of ET Now – premier business channel having
integrated newsroom with ET print edition.

2011

Sunday ET re-launched as a tabloid.

Bodhivriksha (spiritual weekend newspaper in Kannada) launched.

Launch of The Times of India, Coimbatore, and Madurai/Trichy Editions.

2012

Launch of The Times of India, Kerala, Visakhapatnam, and Raipur(Chhattisgarh) Edition

2013

Launch of the Times of India, Kolhapur Edition.

CURRENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS

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 Chairperson: Indu Jain
 Vice-Chairman & MD: Samir Jain
 Managing Director: Vineet Jain
 Executive Director: Trishla Jain
 Executive Director & CEO: Ravindra Dhariwal
 Executive Director & COO: Shrijeet Mishra
 Executive Director & President: Arunabh Das Sharma
 Non-Executive Director: A.P. Parigi
 Non-Executive Director: Kalpana J. Morparia
 Non Executive Director: M. Damodaran
 Non-Executive Director: Leo Puri

ORGANISATIONAL CHART

Readers

2.2 MISSION STATEMENT OF THE COMPANY

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''To be the leading provider of news, by providing timely, accurate, and multi-
dimensional news. To be the first paper the reader reads today and every day, by
delivering consistently high standards of journalism.’’

VISION STATEMENT OF THE COMPANY

''Aim to provide compelling content and creative solutions to enrich lives, helping
people to know more, do more, and to live inspired.''

QUALITY POLICY FOLLOWED BY COMPANY

The primary objective of Times of India Group’s magazines is to provide information

about current events, on issues of social, political, economic, cultural, and technological
importance through news, articles, and advertisements. The magazines also aim at
protecting the rights of people and protecting their freedom.

Customer Satisfaction

Providing our customers with products and services that meet or exceed their
requirements

Continual Improvement

Measurable improvement of the effectiveness of our business and its management and
operating systems

Employees

Empowering our employees to use their skills and talents to achieve the quality policy
and business plan objectives

Management System

Maintaining a management system compliant with ISO 9001 and applicable legal and
regulatory requirements.

Environment

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Maintaining operations that protect the environment and the natural resources of our
communities and our nation. Please see our separate Environmental Policy for our
detailed policy.

Safety

Providing a safe work environment for our employees and visitors at all times. And

Supplying products and services that are fit for purpose & safe to use.

2.3 PRODUCT PROFILE

The Times Group (Also referred to as Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.) is the largest
company in the media and entertainment industry in India and South Asia. It has
completed 175 years of its journey in the media industry from 1838, established in
Mumbai. Starting with The Times of India – which is now the largest English publication
in the world, BCCL and its subsidiaries (called The Times of India Group), are present in
every existing media platform – Newspapers, Magazines, Books, TV, Radio, Internet,
Event Management, Outdoor Display, Music, Movies and more. Having a strength of
more than 11,000 employees, its revenue is exceeding $1.5 Billion, it has the support of
more than 25000 advertisers and a vast audience spanning across the world.

Key Business areas:

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  Publishing
 Television
 Digital
 Out of Home
 Other Activities

Publishing:-

 Largest publisher in India: 13 newspapers, 18 magazines, 16 publishing centers,

26 printing centers
 Largest English newspaper in India by circulation (and the world), the Times of
India.
 Largest Business newspaper in India by circulation (2nd largest English
Business daily in the world, behind WSJ), the Economic Times.
 Largest Non‐English newspapers in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore by circulation
(India’s three largest cities).

Television:-

 Largest English News TV Channel, No. 2 English Business News TV Channel.

 Largest Bollywood News and Lifestyle TV Channel, No. 2 English Movies TV
Channel.

Digital:-

 Largest Indian network based on traffic and revenue (behind Google, Facebook,
Yahoo).
 Operates 30+ digital businesses, most of which are Top 3 in their competitive
segment.
 Most popular B2C mobile shortcode in India, across SMS, voice, WAP, and USSD
Radio.
 Largest radio network in India by revenue and listenership, with 32 stations.
 Operates the largest rock radio station in the UK.

Out-of-home:-

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  Largest Out‐of‐home advertising business in India with presence in all major
metros.
 Owns advertising contracts in most major airports in India.

Other Activities:-

 Music
 Movies
 Syndication
 Education
 Financial Services
 Event Management
 Specialized publications - including books and multimedia.

ABOUT THE MAGAZINES

FEMINA(English, Hindi, Tamil)

Launched in 1959, Femina is India’s first and to-date India’s largest English women’s
magazine. Femina covers issues on women, fashion, relationships, homemaking, food,
beauty, health & fitness, careers, new products, etc. The fortnightly magazine owes its
success to a level-headed approach to feminism made rich by writers from all walks of
life.

Femina also gives its name to the annual Femina Miss India awards – a beauty pageant
contest that confers the most beautiful Indian title to women in a nationwide contest
held each year. The awards are property of Bennett Coleman with the finalists going on
to represent India in the annual Miss World and Miss Universe beauty pageant.

Femina Girl was launched in February 2002, forging a bond with the teen waiting in the
wings to become a Femina Babe.

Inspired by the success of Femina magazine, the group started Femina Miss India
awards – a celebration of womanhood and beauty – which have acted as a catalyst in
making a whole new generation of women rediscovering and redefining themselves.

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FILMFARE (English, Hindi)

Nothing powers popular culture like the Hindi film and nothing more than Bollywood -
the largest film industry in the world – which is captured in all its glory by Filmfare –
India’s leading film magazine launched in 1952. Filmfare has a cult status amongst its
readers resulting as evident from the periodicity of the magazine becoming from
monthly to a fortnightly since 2007. Spurred by the popularity and insatiable demand
for Bollywood films, Filmfare Awards were instituted within a few years of the launch of
the magazine. Within a short period, the annual Filmfare Awards became the gold
standard for excellence in Hindi and other Bollywood mainstream films and came to be
acknowledged as the Oscars of India, being the most prestigious and most sought after
by every cine-industry professional

BBC TOPGEAR

BBC Top Gear is the world's leading automobile magazine since 1993. In India, it has an
image of the straightest talking and most entertaining automobile magazine. It has now
17 international editions. It includes the in-depth buying information, with the review
and buyers guide. It also includes a comprehensive listing of every single car and bike
available in the market to give the readers a real experience.

HELLO!

Hello! Hello! is a popular celebrity and lifestyle magazine. First, it was launched in Italy
in the year of 1930. It has now 13 international editions. In India, it was launched in
April 2007. It is published monthly covering A to Z of Indian and global celebrity
lifestyle news.

Now it becomes an easy step to enter into celebrity' lives. It also includes celebrities'
views on various subjects and issues in the world. The interviews in the magazine help
readers to feel that they have met and visited the celebrities.

GRAZIA

24
Over 70 years since its launch in Italy, Grazia is still successful in keeping the women’s
taste season after season. It became the most qualified interpreter of style for millions
of women across the globe today.

India was launched in 2008 as the 10th edition of this hugely popular title. Grazia covers
both designer and high-street fashion as well as health, beauty, fitness, and lifestyle
issues.

BBC Good Homes

Good Homes is one of the most preferred and leading interior and decor magazines that
inspires its readers with innovative ideas that fit every space and budget. It offers its
readers an eclectic mix of decor suggestions and DIY tips.

Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet India magazine aims to inspire and enable travelers to connect with the
world. It has been treated as the world's most trusted source of travel. Inspiring you to
sample different cultures first-hand, discover new people, and learn fascinating stories.

Home TRENDS

In 1984 TRENDS was launched in New Zealand. To fulfill the need for a source of
reference on architecture and design. Now it has become the most loved and referred-to
magazine across 11 countries. Probably it is the most widely read architecture and
design magazine in the world. In 2010, it was launched in India as Home TRENDS to
meet the demand for architecture and design reference due to the real estate boom in
India.

BBC Knowledge

It has been created as a premium product for young and inquisitive minds. BBC
Knowledge is a bi-monthly magazine, aiming at those, who are looking for knowledge
based on science, history, and nature. The Indian edition of BBC Knowledge follows in
the footsteps of the first edition

launched in the United States in August 2008, which was an instant success - being
voted among the Top 10 newly-launched magazines of 2008 by Library Journal, USA.

25
Besides Indian and the USA, BBC Knowledge is also available internationally in the
United Kingdom, Brazil, Singapore, and Bulgaria.

BBC Good Food

It is India's first international food magazine. It contains food and recipe guides and life
experiences from prominent chefs and food experts.

BBC Good Food Magazine was awarded Food and Drink Magazine of the year at the
DMA 2013 Digital Magazine Awards and Digital Magazine Of The Year at the PPA Digital
Publishing Awards 2013.

2.4 CUSTOMERS OF THE ORGANIZATION

Loyal customers

Customer loyalty is the act of choosing one company's products and services
consistently over its competitors. When a customer is loyal to one company, they aren't
easily swayed by price or availability. They would rather pay more and ensure the same
quality service and product they know and love.

Impulse customers

Impulsive buying is the tendency of a customer to buy goods and services without
planning. When a customer takes such buying decisions at the spur of the moment, it is
usually triggered by emotions and feelings.

Need-based customers

Need-based customers are driven by a specific need. In other words, they enter the

store quickly, purchase what they need, and leave. These customers buy for a
specific need or occasion and are hard to upsell. 

Age-based customers

26
Age-based customers are the classification among customers of a product according to
their age differences.

Gender-based customers

Gender-based customers are the classification among customers of a product according

to their sex.

LEVEL OF OPERATIONS

Global basis

Times of India magazine is an Indian-based magazine. So, according to globally the

magazine can't able to survive easily with their competitors. But the Indian people
around the world will pursue the magazine, because of the dialects and homely feelings.

Starting with The Times of India – which is now the largest English publication in the
world, BCCL and its subsidiaries (called The Times of India Group) having the strength
of more than 11,000 employees, its revenue is exceeding $1.5 Billion, it has the support
of more than 25000 advertisers and a vast audience spanning across the world.

National basis

Times of India magazine is a well-established and popular magazine across India. So,
customers have been confident and loyal towards the magazine. And this will helpful for
the growth and strengths in marketing with competitors. The magazine always tries to
new ideas and innovations according to the lifestyle change among Indian people. Thus,
nationwide the magazine plays a major role in the mass media industry.

Regional basis, the magazine has its goodwill among the regional population in the
country. And it gives information about the political, economical, social issues which the
people are seeking.

2.5 COMPETITORS OF THE COMPANY

27
 CATEGORY
1.Fashion and celebrity
2.Automobiles
3.Bollywood And Movies
Masala
4.Women lifestyle
5.Interiors and
Architectural
6.Travel
7.Science and Knowledge
8.Food and Catering
TIMES MAGAZINE COMPETITORS
Grazia, Hello! Verve, Vogue, etc
BBC Top Gear Overdrive, Auto Car, etc.
Filmfare Stardust, Cineblitz, The Fil
Street Journal, etc.
Femina (Hindi & English) Wedding affair, Harper's
Bazaar, etc.
BBC Good Homes and Ideal Home, Home & Garden
Homes Trends plus, Architecture+Design
Lonely Planet Travel plus, Outlook
Traveller, National
Geographic Traveller, etc.
BBC Knowledge Popular science India,
Readers Digest, etc
BBC Good Food Khana Khazana etc

2.6 STRATEGIES – BUSINESS

TRADE SCHEMES

 Offered to channel members

 The incentive to increase sales
 Challenge for channel member: Balance reader interest while trying to increase sales
to avail benefits of the scheme
 Discounts for purchase of larger volumes by the vendor
 The bonus of 50 paise for each new account generation by the vendor

DISCOUNTS

 Mainly for institutional sales

 Eg. Bulk sale at schools at discount rates

READER SCHEMES

 Directed at final consumer/reader. Mainly to draw in new customers

 Varies depending on location & demography
 Could include trials, discounts, freebies, combo offers, etc

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SUBSCRIPTION SALES

 Offer choice of publication for a certain amount of time at a lump sum discount price
 Purpose- gaining new customers and making customer switch

INFORMATION FLOW

 New consumer/Existing consumer taking or terminating the subscription

 Inform their Vendor( increase/decrease his order by one )
 Vendor Informs the distributor
 Distributor informs the company.

CHANNEL MARGIN

 The margin given by TOI to channel members is around 30%

 The more or less uniform rate across the industry
 Agents get 5-10%, salesmen on payroll get fixed salary
 The vendor receives 20-25%, to cover the costs incurred due to travel, beat boys,
etc. It depends on the type and language of the newspaper. (Hindi – 25%; English –
20%)

PRICING STRATEGIES

Name of Magazines Price Per Issue Periodicity

1.Femina (English) Rs.60/- Fortnightly
2.Femina (Hindi) Rs.40/- Monthly
3.Filmfare (English) Rs.60/- Fortnightly
4.Hello Rs.120/- Monthly
5.Topgear Rs.150/- Monthly
6.Grazia Rs.120/- Monthly
7.BBC Good Homes Rs.100/- Monthly
8.Lonely Planet Rs.120/- Monthly
9.BBC Knowledge Rs.125/- Bi-monthly
10.BBC Good Food Rs.100/- Monthly
11.Home Trends Rs.250/- 10 issues per year
12.What’s Up Rs.50/- Weekly
13.The Economists Rs.220/- Monthly
14.Zig Wheels Rs.75/- Monthly

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MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

PRINTING PRESS

 It takes the content from the editorial team and prints using high capacity advanced
press machines that deliver the product in packaged condition
 Situated in Lucknow for U.P. region.
 Capacity to print over 10 lac copies.
 Printing starts around 1-1:30 am usually
 After Printing, stacking is done before dispatching newspapers to depots
 Labeling is done to match stacks with the destination
 Usually, stocks for depots situated the farthest are dispatched earliest.

Depots

 The distribution center receives the copies from the transporter and stocks them for
a short duration
 Close to numbers of depots in Lucknow
 Keep publications (newspaper + magazines) for various companies
 Serviced by salespersons who are company employees
 Unorganized – keep newspapers/magazines scattered on pavements or steps of
some malls, etc
 Records are kept at depots in the following format:-

AGENTS

 Employed where distribution is not organized

 Exclusive agents of TOI
 Work on commission, themselves act as salesmen
 Lucknow Market- Working with depot
 Lucknow- Working with agency system

VENDORS

 Like retailers. The link between the depot and the end consumer

30
 Go to the nearest depot every day. Pick out publications they want

 They sell via door-to-door beat boys/single point newspaper stands

 MDI vendors serve in areas. He collects newspapers from Old Bus Stand Agents.

BEAT BOYS

The delivery boys have demarcated regions/housing societies, which they serve.
Hawkers are individuals who do not have established customers and sell at roadsides,
bus stands, etc. They make small quantity purchases

 Deliver required publications to proper destinations.

 Have a route-wise list of addresses and their required newspaper/publications
 3-4 beat boys cover an area via their routes.

2.7 CSR ACTIVITIES

The term corporate social responsibility (CSR) refers to practices and policies
undertaken by corporations that are intended to have a positive influence on the world.
The key idea behind CSR is for corporations to pursue other pro-social objectives, in
addition to maximizing profits.

In Times of India, there are many CSR activities were implemented such as:

Corporate Environmental Responsibility

Pollution and excessive consumption were once considered the costs of doing
business for companies. As environmental issues grew on a global scale, it became
more important than ever for companies to be aware of their contributions to these
problems.

Environmentally responsible companies need to analyze their processes and

voluntarily do everything in their power to reduce the environmental impact –

31
especially when it comes to waste disposal and carbon footprints. Global warming
poses a real threat, and corporations bear a large part of the blame.

Consumers today see it as their responsibility to take actionable steps to address the
problem.

Corporate Human Rights Responsibility

Human rights responsibility for companies usually involves enacting fair labor
practices, condemning child labor, and establishing fair trade practices. The National
Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was enacted to prevent unfair labor practices by
employers and unions, yet issues such as unequal pay have gone unanswered on a
large scale.

Employees are the core of a company, many consumers maintain that it is on company
leadership to make sure they are treating their employees fairly.

In addition to their employees, companies must ensure the companies they are doing
business with are taking human rights responsibility seriously, especially when it
comes to child labor. Many companies are beginning to end business relationships
with companies that use child labor. Disney, Mattel, and Walmart are a few companies
that came under intense scrutiny after it was revealed that the factory that produces
their toys uses child labor.

Corporate Philanthropic Responsibility

Corporate philanthropic responsibility typically involves making investments in the
local community, whether it is for educational programs, scholarship programs, health
initiatives, or supporting notable causes in general.
Companies that don't view the people in their communities as sources of revenue
understand the role the community plays in their success outside of the business.
Consumers today want to know that companies care about them outside of the money
they spend.

32
Most corporations choose to donate money to causes that are meant to bring about
social change. Some may choose to attach their brand to the cause, while others may
choose to remain entirely in the background and not take any credit for the money or
resources offered.

A good amount of large corporations have in-house departments devoted to

coordinating and managing the company's philanthropic programs and efforts. These
corporations will usually have a few causes that they attach their brand to and commit
their resources toward.

Corporate Economic Responsibility

The straightforward truth is that companies that do not make money do not remain in
business. However, consumers today believe that profits should not come at the
expense of ethics. Unethical practices may benefit a company in the short term, but
their long-term effects can be disastrous. The 2008 financial crisis is an example of a
few companies creating the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Economic responsibility for corporations also includes finding and implementing the
most efficient practices for minimizing wasted capital. This may come in the form of
new manufacturing processes that improve efficiency or investing in new equipment.

2.8 EXPORT/IMPORT

In India, the imports and exports are regulated by the Foreign Trade (Development and
Regulation) Act, 1992, which empowers the federal government to make provisions for
the development and regulation of foreign trade. The current provisions relating to
exports and imports in India are available under the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-20. 

Import procedures

Typically, the procedure for import and export activities involves ensuring licensing and
compliance before the shipping of goods, arranging for transport and warehousing after

33
the unloading of goods, and getting customs clearance as well as paying taxes before the
release of goods.

Steps involved in importing of Times of India magazines

1.Obtain IEC

Before importing from India, every business must first obtain an Import Export Code
(IEC) number from the regional joint DGFT. The IEC is a pan-based registration of
traders with lifetime validity and is required for clearing customs, sending shipments,
as well as for sending or receiving money in foreign currency.

The process to obtain the IEC registration takes about 10-15 days.

2. Ensure legal compliance under different trade laws

Once an IEC is allotted, businesses may import goods that are compliant with Section 11
of the Customs Act (1962), Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act (1992), and
the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-20.
However, certain items – restricted, canalized, or prohibited, as declared and notified by
the government – require additional permits and licenses from the DGFT and the
federal government.

3. Procure import licenses

To determine whether a license is needed to import a particular commercial product or

service, an importer must first classify the item by identifying its Indian Trading
Clarification based on a Harmonized System of Coding or ITC (HS) classification.

ITC (HS) is India's chief method of classifying items for trade and import-export
operations. The ITC-HS Code, issued by the DGFT, is an 8-digit alphanumeric code
representing a certain class or category of goods, which allows the importer to follow
regulations concerned with those goods.

34
An import license may be either a general license or a specific license. Under a general
license, goods can be imported from any country, whereas a specific or individual
license authorizes import only from specific countries.

Import licenses are used in import clearance, renewable, and typically valid for 24
months for capital goods or 18 months for raw materials components, consumables,
and spare parts.

4. File Bill of Entry and other documents to complete customs clearing formalities

After obtaining import licenses, importers are required to furnish import declaration in
the prescribed Bill of Entry along with permanent account number (PAN) based
Business Identification Number (BIN), as per Section 46 of the Customs Act (1962).

A Bill of Entry gives information on the exact nature, precise quantity, and value of
goods that have landed or entered inwards in the country.

If the goods are cleared through the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system, no
formal Bill of Entry is filed as it is generated in the computer system. However, the
importer must file a cargo declaration after prescribing particulars required for
processing of the entry for customs clearance.

If the Bill of Entry is filed without using the EDI system, the importer is required to
submit supporting documents that include a certificate of origin, certificate of
inspection, bill of exchange, commercial invoice cum packing list, among others.

Once the goods are shipped, the customs officials examine and assess the information
furnished in the bill of entry and match it with the imported items. If there are no
irregularities, the officials issue a 'pass out the order' that allows the imported goods to
be replaced from the customs.

5. Determine import duty rate for clearance of goods

35
India levies basic customs duty on imported goods, as specified in the first schedule of
the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, along with goods-specific duties such as anti-dumping
duty, safeguard duty, and social welfare surcharge. 

In addition to these, the government levies an integrated goods and services tax (IGST)
under the new GST system. The IGST rates depend on the classification of imported
goods as specified in Schedules notified under Section 5 of the IGST Act (2017).

Export procedures

Just as for imports, a company planning to engage in export activities is required to

obtain an IEC number from the regional joint DGFT. After obtaining the IEC, the
exporter needs to ensure that all the legal compliances are met under different trade
laws.

Further, the exporter must check if an export license is required, and accordingly apply
for the license to the DGFT.

An exporter is also required to register with the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC),
which issues the Non-Preferential Certificates of Origin certifying that the exported
goods are originated in India.

Import and export documents

Businesses are required to submit a set of documents for carrying out export and
import activities in India.

These include commercial documents – the ones exchanged between the buyer and
seller, and regulatory documents that deal with various regulatory authorities such as
the customs, excise, licensing authorities, as well as the export promotion bodies that
help avail export-import benefits.

The Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020 mandates the following commercial documents

for carrying out importing and exporting activities:

36
  Bill of lading or airway bill;
 Commercial invoice cum packing list;
 Shipping bill or bill of export, or bill of entry (for imports).

Additional documents like certificate of origin and inspection certificate may be

required as per the case.

The important regulatory documents include:

 GST return forms (GSTR 1 and GSTR 2);

 GSTR refund form;
 Exchange Control Declaration;
 Bank Realization Certificate; and
 Registration cum Membership Certificate (RCMC).

2.9 COLLABORATIONS AND EXPANSION PLANS

World Wide Media (WWM) is a joint venture between the BCCL and BBC World Wide. It
is India's largest producer of lifestyle and special interest magazines. It was formed in
2004 and in 2011 it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bennett, Coleman and
Company Limited (BCCL). From just four magazines in 2008, WWM is currently
producing 13 magazines in India and worldwide. The collaboration and expansion plans
in Times of India include:

TIML & ENIL

Times Innovative Media Limited (TIML) & Entertainment Network India Limited (ENIL)
that together control,

 Radio Mirchi National network of Private FM stations

 360 Degrees Events

37
  Times Outdoors (TIM Delhi Airport Advertising Private Limited.
 Mirchi Movies Limited Filmed Entertainment. Producers of BEING CYRUS,
VELLITHIRAI, MANJADIKURU.

Times Internet Limited

Times Internet Limited is one of the largest internet companies in India. It has interests
in online news, online business news, Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, and Bengali news,
mobile, e-commerce, music, video, and communities. Some of the larger properties of
TIL include:

 India times shopping - one of the largest and earliest e-commerce portals in
India
 India
 Times of India
 Economic times.com
 Navbharattimes.com
 Maharashtra Times
 Timescity.com
 Gaana.com
 BoxTV.com
 Times Deal

Times of Money

Times of Money operates financial remittance services for Indians abroad to send
money back to India. Their product, remit2India, is a standalone product, while also
powering the remittance services of many banks globally.

Times Global Broadcasting Limited

Television division. It is also called Times Television Network.

 Times Now A general interest news Channel

 Smart Hire A Consulting Division – Recruitments
 ET Now A business news channel

38
  Zoom A 24x7 Bollywood entertainment and gossip channel
 Movies Now A 24x7 Hollywood Movies channel in High Definition (India's first)

Times Business Solutions

 TBSL, the corporate website of TBSL.

 Times Jobs, a jobs portal.
 Teaching, a professional networking site for Technology Peoples.
 Simply Marry, a matrimonial portal.
 Magic Bricks, a real estate portal.
 Yost, free classifieds portal.
 Ads2Book, an online classifieds booking system for print publications.
 Peer Power, a Senior-Level professional networking portal.

World Wide Media

World Wide Media - started as a 50:50 magazine joint venture between BCCL and BBC
magazines. In August 2011, it was announced that Bennett, Coleman & Co. bought out
the remaining 50 percent shares of Worldwide Media from BBC Worldwide thereby
making World Wide Media a fully owned subsidiary of BCCL.

 Filmfare
 Filmfare Awards
 Femina
 Femina Miss India A Beauty Pageant
 Top Gear Magazine India
 BBC Good Homes
 Femina Hindi
 Grazia
 What to Wear

TIML Radio Limited

39
On 30 May 2008, SMG sold The British Virgin Radio to TIML Radio Limited for £53.2
million with £15 million set aside for rebranding. On 28 September 2008, The British
Virgin Radio Station rebranded as Absolute Radio, including the sister radio stations
Absolute Xtreme and Absolute Classic Rock.

Stations

 Absolute Radio
 Absolute Radio 60s
 Absolute Radio 70s
 Absolute 80s
 Absolute Radio 90s
 Absolute Radio 00s
 Absolute Classic Rock
 Absolute Radio Extra This company is a direct subsidiary of BCCL (not through
TIML or ENIL).

Times Syndication Service

The syndication division of The Times of India Group, grants reprint rights for text, and
other media from the group's publications.

Brand Capital

Brand Capital provides funding to growth-oriented enterprises for their long-term

brand building needs.

Online shopping

Satvik shop, an online shopping website dedicated to organic and ayurvedic products.

2.10 SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE COMPANY

Strengths:

40
 Being the largest company of its kind, it has the largest market share in India. It can
be said as the most awarded brand of its kind in Lucknow.
 It provides the best quality content including all magazines and newspapers at low
prices.
 Having a tie-up with BBC increases the brand value.
 Parent company’s presence in all media i.e television and radio etc. becomes easy
to reach a wide range of consumers for its campaign.

Weaknesses:-

 Tough competition in the industry raises limited scope for increasing market share.

Opportunities:-

 It has a better opportunity in regional language publications in India. For example,

many people ask about Gujarati magazines.
 It can also penetrate the online market, by making its contents available online. So
that users can avail this on their computers and mobiles.

Threats:-

 The main threat comes from its competitors.

 Local language publications can take over its market share.

3.1 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter presents a review of the literature to identify and understand the sales and
promotion in Times of India group magazines. A comprehensive review of related past

41
studies helps the researcher to adapt, modify, and improve the imagination of the
framework and provide a link with past approaches. The findings and recommendations
of the past literature relating to sales and promotions towards magazines are not many.
Only a few comprehensive studies exclusively towards sales and promotions on
marketing management are carried out in India. Based on the review of literature the
researcher has enabled to identify their source for the present study. The available
studies are collected from research articles, committee reports, projects, and surveys
conducted.

Roshan Khanna(1995) in his article, explained sales and promotion strategies used by
Times of India group magazines, for achieving their target effectively.

Ankur Jaiswal(1998) attempts to know the opportunities and prospects in the carrier of
Times of India group magazine among the readers.

Rushabh Agarwall(2003) in his project, explained the different types of magazines and
their market segments according to the reader's preferences.

Karan Tacker(2008) in his article, mentioned the contributions of Times of India group
magazines towards social, economic, and politics in India.

B. S. Gayathri(2012) in her project, explained the promotion techniques adapted by

Times of India group magazine.

3.2 OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE COMPANY AND INDUSTRY

Company

42
Times of India group magazine focuses to achieve their objective and targets effectively
by satisfying the readers and contributing positive impacts among social, economic, and
political aspects in the country. And to give updated information and knowledge about
different topics related according to the tastes and preferences of subscribers.

 This year, the company implemented a lot of various programs and policies. And it
helps to increase their growth and profits.
 Last year, the company increased their profit through advertising by 80%, while
compared to previous and this year.
 The capital structure of Times of India is increased by year over year. Where the
debt at present is approximately $15 million and the equity is $50 million.
 In Times of India, sales were increased by 4% in 2015. In 2016, it was just decreased
by 1.5%. But in 2017, they just regained their growth to 5%. Where in 2018, they
increased by 7%.
 The company improved a huge number of subscribers by a minimum of 4.1%
growth every year.
 Times of India group organizes many programs across the country by conducting
reading and writing programs in colleges, schools, etc.
 The company is expected to attract investment of about $120 billion by 2022-23 and
create about 18 million additional jobs in the process. Exports are also expected to
increase from the current $22 billion to $130 billion by 2022-23.

Industry

The mass media industry is comprised of a diverse group of media companies. This

group is best described as mature. Many of its members' mainstay gazettes have long
publishing histories and names recognized in households across the country. Still, over
the past decade, these companies have shifted their focus away from traditional core
products, i.e., dailies and weeklies, to keep up with the changing media landscape.

Several companies have attempted to boost net profit by broadening their revenue base.
Operations have expanded beyond publication to include, among other businesses,
broadcasting and cable television. Indeed, the emphasis on non-newspaper segments
has increased, and, in some cases, managements have separated newspaper assets and
divested or spun them off. The success of diversification is mixed. Often, there are top-

43
line gains, however, the benefits to the bottom line can be disappointing, due to higher
costs.

Having a strength of more than 11,000 employees, its revenue is exceeding $1.5 Billion,
it has the support of more than 25000 advertisers and a vast audience spanning across
the world. The industry is expected to attract investment of about $120 billion by 2024-
25 and create about 35 million additional jobs in the process. Exports are also expected
to rise from the current $39 billion to $300 billion by 2024-25.

3.3 OBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT OF LITERATURE

The literacy growth was increased the reading habits among all age groups across our
country. So, it helps the mass media industry as well as media companies to improve
their growth by attracting more subscribers and customers. Thus the companies were
highly competitive with each other and trying to implement innovative ideas and new
programs.

Nowadays, people preferred only the media which highly satisfying their needs with
updated sources of information and news spontaneously and genuine. Through the
introduction of the internet, the industry and companies were transformed into a
technology basis. And the customers also accepted it with a wide range. Because it
creates an opportunity among customers to avail themselves the sources with fast and
less expensive.

The economic growth also supports the people to prefer the means of media according
to their tastes whether it may be magazines, radios, televisions, newspapers, etc. So, it
will be an opportunity for the companies to implement changes and increases variety
from a single product itself. And the magazine companies were highly competitive with
each other such as Times of India, Forbes India magazine, Outlook magazine, etc.

The revenue of Times of India magazines consists of subscription sales, trade sales, and
mainly from advertising. More than 70% of the total revenue comes from advertising.
The Times of India Group, being the market leader in the industry is also stepping with
the current growth and development of the demography. Worldwide Media, a

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subsidiary of Times of India Group is producing high-quality magazines in India and
worldwide.

3.4 CONTRIBUTION BY THE STUDENT

Findings

 Magazines are well entertained, updated, and well-informed.

 The price according to the quality of the magazines is satisfactory.
 Subscribers have a high demand for the improvement of services.
 There is tough competition among magazines in India.
 Maximum people prefer Hindi rather than English.
 Subscription schemes attract more customers.
 Schemes with the gift are playing a good role in increasing readership as there are a
lot of customers who have subscribed only for a gift.
 Magazines were increasing their profits mainly from advertising.
 People were highly attracted to buy the magazines which avail in their regional
languages.
 Peoples are highly interested in magazines but low awareness about the schemes.
 Magazines were classified their product according to different groups such as age,
sex, qualification, job, location, etc
 Times of India magazines were conducting many programs and policies among
colleges and schools across India.
 Times of India magazine introduced the first English women's magazine named
'Femina’.
 Times of India magazine initiated many literacy programs across India.
 Times of India magazine increasing its advertising fee year over year.

Suggestions

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 Improvement of Services: The first and foremost recommendation that can be
suggested from the findings of the research is the improvement in services. As there
is a high demand of the magazines of WWM. The customers now have huge options
for selecting a magazine, as there are so many producers of magazines in a different
language and increased usage of the internet. Therefore a small problem faced by a
customer may lead to losing that one.
 A better distribution channel: I would also like to recommend that by implementing
a better distribution channel, TOI can increase its market share.
 A better renewal reminder system: A better renewal reminder system can also be
implemented. There is a system of reminders but customers are complaining that
they are not getting the reminder alarm.
 Appointment of new staff: TOI can also improve their services by appointing new
staff as 'Customer care Executive' by giving well training so that they will be able to
respond to the customers well who have problems. Because currently customers are
not well responded.
 A Hindi version of Femina: There is also a demand from the target group in Lucknow
is a Hindi version of Femina. By doing this they can get readers from other
magazines like Gruhsubha etc.

4. CONCLUSION

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The project plays an important role in management education where students get a
golden opportunity to apply their knowledge and learning gained from classroom
lectures in a practical business environment. The SIP program also helps in gaining
knowledge and developing the confidence level to work. I have also learned a lot from
my Internship at the Times of India Group, Lucknow. This research has been done to
study sales and promotion of magazines in India towards Times Group’s magazines. The
people in India still preferring printed content despite technology adaption. In urban
areas, people prefer English magazines rather than Hindi or other regional languages.
But maximum areas still prefer to read their regional language magazines. There are
high demand and high awareness about TOI newspapers in India. But fewer people are
aware that TOI has magazines also. And some people are aware of it but they are not
aware of the subscription schemes. They are interested in subscribing. When they came
to know about the schemes, they immediately bought subscriptions. But still, there are
some areas where awareness about these magazines is very low. Customer loyalty
towards TOI magazines is very high. A survey shows that only 26% of the customers
don't renew their subscriptions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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1. Jobber, David- Selling and Sales Management,publisher-Pearson Education 15-
December 2019

2. Philip T. Kotler, Kevin Lane Keller - Marketing Management,publisher-Pearson

Education 21-November 2011 Business & Economics.

3. https://in.linkedin.com/company/bennett-coleman-and-co-ltd-times-group-

4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Times_of_India

5. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/bennett-coleman-and-co-ltd

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