Frontline, the iconic fortnightly news magazine by The Hindu Group, recently unveiled its new avatar with bolder fonts, and a fresh design palette.

On the sidelines of the launch, e4m spoke to Suresh Balakrishna, Chief Revenue Officer, The Hindu, to gather insights on the print industry’s overall readership and the advertisers’ sentiment for the medium.

Excerpts:

Has the print industry witnessed an increase in readership in recent years?

The industry has already witnessed an increase in readership in recent years, and the best thing about print and digital is that both mediums are doing well in the market.

How is The Hindu faring in terms of ad revenues?

We cannot share revenues for Q4 now but we can talk about the data for the last few years. We finished at 98% in 2019. I believe that makes us the best-performing English newspaper group in the country. We have had a fabulous journey so far. The newspaper has also witnessed a significant growth in the last couple of years. The months of April and May have been a great start to the year.

How do you differentiate print from other forms of media?

The print media is making a comeback after the pandemic. The weight has been significantly bounced back, and this is a big development for the print media industry. This shows that people still want to continue newspaper reading and continue to subscribe to newspapers. Moreover, we have also achieved the pre-pandemic newspaper circulation target.

How has Hindu been expanding its digital market in recent years?

We already have an established market across the country. Our website and app are behind the paywall. The good thing is that people in large numbers are going for subscribtions to read the newspaper. The Hindu has done a great job in maintaining the credibility of its content and gaining readers’ trust in the market. Moreover, we are planning to expand in the print and magazine business in the coming years.

What are your thoughts on the new avatar of Frontline Magazine?

The magazine is a prestigious product of The Hindu Group. The refreshed look will offer a lot more to our readers, both visually and in terms of content. The intent is to seamlessly merge tradition and innovation to offer a power-packed reading experience and it’s safe to say we have achieved it.

Are we going to see more brands investing in print and magazines in the coming years?

Yes, brands are investing in print and magazines in large numbers. Digital brands are our biggest categories. Moreover, ed-tech and fintech companies are investing in the print media. Technology has provided a great evolution for the print and magazine business in India.