Change in number of Circulation figures of Key Publications in Jul-Dec 2014 over Jan-June 2014 (In thousands)
- Sakal media group inclusive of Daily Sakal, Agrowon & Gomantak has the highest circulation among Marathi language publication with 14.49 Lakh copies in total
- Sakal is the leading Marathi publication in Mumbai & Pune combined with circulation of 7.4 lakh copies
- The gap between Lokmat & Daily Sakal has reduced from 90,000 copies in Jan-June 2014 to 50,000 copies in July-Dec 2014
Edition wise change in number of Circulation figures in Jul-Dec 2014 over Jan-June 2014 (In thousands)
- Sakal has maintained its number one position in Pune with 6.07 lakh copies, with almost 2.5 times higher to its nearest competitors
- Sakal is ranked second in Kolhapur & Aurangabad edition with circulation of 1.95 lakh & 1.52 lakh respectively
- Growth of Sakal over previous period was way above its most of the competitors in few editions like Mumbai (10%), Nashik (5.5%), Nagpur (4.9%), Jalgaon (4.2%) & Solapur (2.1%)
Sakal Media Group (SMG) Readership: An overview
Readers in Lakhs
- Sakal Media Group has total readers of 43.07 Lakh with Sakal having 40.07 Lakh readers followed by Agrowon and Gomantak with 2.15 Lakh and 0.85 Lakh readers respectively.
- Sakal is ranked 8th in the top 10 language dailies in India.
NCCS Category Wise Sakal Readers
According to the New Consumer Classification System (NCCS) A1 category, Sakal readers are greater than Lokmat readers in Maharashtra. Sakal has 66% readers in the NCCS A&B Category
Sakal Readers Urban/Rural
Sakal has observed a 15% growth of readers in rural Maharashtra along with a 2.5% growth of readers in Urban Maharashtra. Sakal’s growth rate of 4.7% is the highest in Maharashtra excluding Pune.
Gender wise – Sakal Readers
- In Maharashtra, the male and female readership is 72% and 28% respectively. Sakal however, has a 31% Female readership with a 12% growth as compared to the statistics in 2013. Sakal has experienced a higher growth than Lokmat, which has increased by 9%.
- Sakal has a 14% growth in readership within the age group of 20 – 40.
Sakal has 6.9 Lakh readers owning Cars/Jeeps/Vans.
| Products Owned | Number of Readers (In Lakhs) |
Growth over Last Year |
| Mobile Phones | 37.14 | 12% |
| Personal Computers/Laptops | 12.07 | 7% |
| Houses/Flats | 34.62 | 6% |
| Two Wheelers | 24.96 | 5% |
| Cars/Jeeps/Vans | 6.9 | 7% |
Percentage Growth in Consolidated Readership – Above Industry Segment Average
Growing at a blazing pace of 15 per cent over 2013 in rural Maharashtra, Sakal has added 3 lakh new readers to its readership over the previous year. In fact, with a year-on-year readership growth of 8.1 per cent in the state, Sakal is far ahead of Maharashtra’s consolidated readership growth rate of 1.8 per cent (which is for all newspapers in the state).
Percentage Growth in Rural Readership – Double the Speed of Competition
- In the rural segment, Sakal has added 3 lakh new readers across Maharashtra in the past year, amounting to a growth of 15 percent
- Sakal also registered the highest growth rate in female readership, i.e. 12 percent
Sakal Media Group (SMG) readership reaches new heights with a robust growth of 15%
in rural Maharashtra in IRS 2014
KOLHAPUR
Of the Sakal readership in Kolhapur, the percentage of NCCS Category A readers is a whopping 39%. It also has a first-ranking growth rate of 28% among agricultural land owners. Sakal also finds favour with the highest number of graduates (1.71 lakh), who have fuelled the pace of Sakal’s growth in Kolhapur. With a 23% increase in graduate readership, it is the highest preferential growth within that elite population.
AURANGABAD
A qualitative boost in aurangabad shows 5.51 lakh agricultural land owners being Sakal readers which is the highest among all publications. With 7.22 lakh readers in absolute numbers. Sakal also wins the rural readership race in that region. Sakal also commands adult readership (30 – 49 years) with 4.85 lakh readers and finds favour with women readers(3.68 lakh), both higher than other newspapers.
NASHIK
Readership in Nashik has increased by a stunning 32% with urban readership growing at 18%, both of which are the highest among all others in competition. This growth comes from the emerging and influential population which overhelmingly contributes to the readership. While 41% of readers are young adults(20 – 29 years), the growth in readership among men is 42%.
THE CROWN OF PUNE
Sakal’s Pune edition, in terms of absolute readership at 13.71 lakh, crushes all competition with a growth percentage of 16% over the previous year. No other Marathi newspaper in any of their editions across the state has a readership like Sakal in Pune!
THE PRIDE OF MAHARASHTRA
As for Maharashtra, it is heartening that the changemakers of tomorrow prefer Sakal as their newspaper. Almost 2.32 lakh post-graduates(highest among all Marathi papers, all editions included) begin a new day with Sakal everyday!
AGROWON
- Agrowon has a readership of 2.15 Lakh which is spread across Maharashtra
- Agrowon has 88% of male readers.
- Agrowon is the only daily publication in India, which is focused mainly on Farmers. 80% of its readers own Agricultural land.
- 77% of the readers own two wheelers.
- All the Agrowon readers own mobile phones.
GOMANTAK
- Gomantak has 85,000 readers and has experienced a decrease in its readership by 7% over the previous year
- It is ranked 3rd among Marathi publications, with only 1% readers less than Tarun Bharat in Goa.
