Sunday, May 01, 2005
Newspaper-War Correspondent: 01/05/05
TOI Incursion Soon?
Perhaps The Hindu should start polishing its weapons of war? News from the Agencyfaqs! website:
May is going to be one hot month down South. Apart from other reasons, The Times of India is set to launch its all-colour Chennai edition by end-May, 2005. According to sources, Vikas Singh, Senior Assistant Editor with TOI, Delhi, will take over as Resident Editor of the Chennai edition.
M Venkatraman, corporate director of TOI Group, said: "We have already ordered for the printing machines and hope to get it within a few months. So, the launch will only happen till the end of May 2005."
Even as the TOI group readies for the Chennai launch, there’s some amount of nervousness within TOI about Hindustan Times’ proposed Mumbai launch.
"Can TOI fight battles at two fronts? What if our Chennai launch coincides with HT’s launch in Mumbai?" asks a TOI insider. It’s hard to hazard a guess, but HT may not be able to launch its Mumbai edition before June 2005. That should give TOI some breathing space. When asked whether the launch will start a price war in Chennai (as has been the case with TOI across cities), Venkatraman said, "I will not like to call it a price war. At the same time, with The Hindu already having a stronghold in the Chennai market and another major player, Deccan Chronicle, planning a Chennai edition, TOI will certainly be priced very strategically."
"But the final decision will only be taken prior to the launch, depending on how Deccan Chronicle prices itself," he adds. Incidentally, both The Hindu and Deccan Chronicle have been under constant pressure in Hyderabad from TOI, which launched its edition about five years back.
Although Venkatraman did not reveal the initial print run, sources say the Chennai edition will start with a circulation of one lakh. "The group will continue with its aggressive marketing strategy even in Chennai," Venkatraman concluded as a warning to prospective competitors.
Link:
(False?) Sense of Security: Moneycontrol.com
Perhaps The Hindu should start polishing its weapons of war? News from the Agencyfaqs! website:
May is going to be one hot month down South. Apart from other reasons, The Times of India is set to launch its all-colour Chennai edition by end-May, 2005. According to sources, Vikas Singh, Senior Assistant Editor with TOI, Delhi, will take over as Resident Editor of the Chennai edition.
M Venkatraman, corporate director of TOI Group, said: "We have already ordered for the printing machines and hope to get it within a few months. So, the launch will only happen till the end of May 2005."
Even as the TOI group readies for the Chennai launch, there’s some amount of nervousness within TOI about Hindustan Times’ proposed Mumbai launch.
"Can TOI fight battles at two fronts? What if our Chennai launch coincides with HT’s launch in Mumbai?" asks a TOI insider. It’s hard to hazard a guess, but HT may not be able to launch its Mumbai edition before June 2005. That should give TOI some breathing space. When asked whether the launch will start a price war in Chennai (as has been the case with TOI across cities), Venkatraman said, "I will not like to call it a price war. At the same time, with The Hindu already having a stronghold in the Chennai market and another major player, Deccan Chronicle, planning a Chennai edition, TOI will certainly be priced very strategically."
"But the final decision will only be taken prior to the launch, depending on how Deccan Chronicle prices itself," he adds. Incidentally, both The Hindu and Deccan Chronicle have been under constant pressure in Hyderabad from TOI, which launched its edition about five years back.
Although Venkatraman did not reveal the initial print run, sources say the Chennai edition will start with a circulation of one lakh. "The group will continue with its aggressive marketing strategy even in Chennai," Venkatraman concluded as a warning to prospective competitors.
Link:
(False?) Sense of Security: Moneycontrol.com
# posted by Narayan Lakshman @ 3:26 AM 
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