New Delhi: Non-print businesses like digital platforms, out-of-home advertising and event management are estimated to contribute around a quarter of revenue of India's newspaper industry in the current financial year, up from 13% recorded in 2018-19, as per data analysed by Crisil Ratings.
According to the rating agency, the increase in the share of non-print revenue provides a hedge against the structural slowdown in the traditional print business.
The circulation base of large newspaper companies fell from 1.5 crore in 2019 to 1 crore in 2025 and is expected to decline further as younger readers continue to migrate to digital platforms.
Consequently, print-related revenue, including print advertising, is estimated to have declined at 1-2% compound annual growth rate over the past seven years.
Revenue from non-print businesses is expected to increase 10-12% annually between fiscals 2025 and 2027, significantly outpacing the 2-3% expected growth in the traditional print business over the same period.
"For large newspaper publishers, diversification is no longer optional," said Manish Gupta, senior director and deputy chief rating officer, Crisil Ratings.
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Growth in non-print businesses is supported by strong brand equity, deep regional reach and the ability to bundle print, digital, radio, events and outdoor media into integrated solutions for advertisers. "This is helping leading players partially offset structural pressure in their legacy print business," Gupta said.
Around 11-13 percentage points jump in non-print revenue share in newspaper businesses marks a decisive pivot from a circulation and readership led model to a broader consumer-engagement and advertising-solutions play.
A Crisil Ratings study of newspaper groups running five of the most widely circulated dailies in India indicates that this transition is already well underway. The shift is becoming a key safeguard against the secular decline of the traditional print business, a trend affecting both English and regional language publications, Crisil Ratings said in a statement.
Meanwhile, digital operations are steadily reducing Ebitda losses as they move beyond incubation and gain operating scale. However, Crisil warned that a sharper-than-expected decline in circulation, slower monetisation of digital platforms or delayed scale-up of non-print businesses would pose challenges.