Political advertising heads for Bihar's Hindi papers

The upcoming assembly elections in Bihar in November have triggered a boom in political advertising in the state. While most contesting parties are spending on digital advertising in the form of online campaigns, video content and partnerships with social media influencers to deliver their messages, Hindi newspapers in the state have seen a surge in advertising too.

- HT Correspondent

According to media industry estimates, while digital platforms have attracted close to ₹5 crore in advertising, Hindi newspapers have cornered nearly three times that amount in ad revenue and the campaign is expected to only get serious after Diwali.

Bihar has at least four large Hindi dailies published from the state. Published by Hindustan Media Ventures Limited, a subsidiary of HT Media Ltd (that also publishes Hindustan Times), the Hindi daily Hindustan is the market leader in the state followed by other big players such as Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhaskar and Prabhat Khabar.

It's easy to see why Hindi newspapers are popular among advertisers in Bihar. Despite increasing competition from digital media, they have seen their circulation improve in the state. According to recent data from the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), in the period between January and June, overall Hindi newspaper circulation in Bihar grew 3% over the previous six months. Hindustan, meanwhile, saw its circulation improve by 4%.