Prabhat Khabar's 10th Edition in Gaya

Prabhat Khabar, the Hindi daily from Neutral Publishing House Ltd (NPHL), is launching its Gaya (Bihar) edition on October 21, 2011 – the fourth edition in the state. With this, Prabhat Khabar now has a total of 10 editions in three states. Launching with initial print run of 40,000 copies, the cover price of the newspaper is fixed at Rs 3 per copy. Kaushal Kishore has been appointed as Resident Editor for the Gaya edition.Prior to this launch, the Gaya region was being served by Patna edition of Prabhat Khabar. The newspaper has 18 pages in all, 10 of which are all-colour pages, with additional three supplements in a week. Speaking on the launch, KK Goenka, Managing Director, NPHL, said, “We have worked very hard for the timely launch of this edition. We are now present in eight locations in Bihar and Jharkhand, which are two more than our nearest competitors, and will be a very important competitive advantage for us.”

Meanwhile, talking about the importance of Gaya market, he noted, “The ‘religious city of Gaya’ is already very famous in the international map due to Bodhgaya, which has a very rich tradition and history. We firmly believe that given our competitive advantage, Prabhat Khabar will emerge as a powerful vehicle to participate in the region’s progress.” For the promotion of the newspaper, the group is focussing on an aggressive OOH campaign in the region.

RK Dutta, Executive Director, NPHL, said, “The launch of Gaya edition holds considerable importance to our expansion strategy in Bihar, enabling us to further broaden our presence in the Bihar and Jharkhand region. We are confident that we will command a market share of 40 per cent in the overall circulation pie of nearly 2 lakh copies in this region.” He also divulged that with this launch they were now looking forward to further consolidate their presence in this region. It may be recalled that nearly three weeks back exchange4media had reported how Prabhat Khabar and Hindustan were preparing to cover the Gaya region with dedicated editions.

Experts believe that as newspapers have seen continuous growth in average issue readership (AIR) in Bihar, it is an apposite time for them to expand their reach in the region. And, with Dainik Bhaskar expected to enter the state by next year now, it becomes necessary for existing players to strengthen their presence to keep their readers glued.