Crisil Ratings in its latest report has said that revenue from non-print businesses - spanning digital platforms, out-of-home advertising and event management - is likely 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. The report, based on an analysis of five of India’s most widely circulated dailies, said India's largest newspaper groups are no longer relying on print alone to preserve relevance or protect credit quality.
According to the report, there is an urgency in the transition, given the fact that circulation of large newspapers has fell to 1 crore in 2025 from 1.5 crore in 2019, and is expected to decline further as younger readers continue to migrate to digital platforms. As a result, it said print-related revenue, including print advertising, is estimated to have declined at 1-2% compound annual growth rate over the past seven years. The agency estimated that the contribution of the non-print revenues has increased to up to a fourth of the revenue base in 2025 from just 13% in 2019. The non-print businesses are structurally less profitable, but factors like scale benefits in digital and adjacent businesses are expected to help preserve the margins at 12-13%.
Explaining the profitability aspect, the agency said out-of-home advertising and event management businesses deliver lower profits due to high costs and intense competition, but digital operations are steadily reducing pre-tax losses as they move beyond incubation and gain operating scale. The large publishers are expected to sustain their credit profiles despite the changing revenue mix as they are entering this transition with conservative capital structures, net cash positions and sizeable liquid investment portfolios, giving them the financial flexibility to invest through the cycle while absorbing softer accruals from the print franchise.
