Rakesh Verma, 42, first encountered a newspaper during a school reading drive in the ’90s, clipping headlines from an English daily to read aloud at the morning assembly. Fast forward to 2025, there are no assemblies for him — but Rakesh still begins his day with the rustle of newsprint and a hot cup of tea. In an age of endless notifications and algorithmic timelines, not everyone finds comfort in doom scrolling. And Rakesh isn’t alone — readers like him are quietly but steadily growing in number, seeking clarity in the clutter.

For years, the industry — both in India and globally — has written print’s obituary, declaring digital as its inevitable successor. But far from fading, print is making a strong comeback. It’s showing in the business too: for the first time since the pandemic, ad rates have gone up by as much as 25%, marking a rare upward correction in a media landscape otherwise driven by discounts.

“What we’re seeing right now is a significant correction in print ad rates - English dailies have gone up by 10–20%, and vernacular titles by as much as 25% in some markets. This is the first big revision in years, and it’s being led by a mix of renewed advertiser confidence and sustained demand, especially post-COVID,” said Amita Srivastava, Vice President – West, Carat India.

“This isn’t just a nostalgia-driven return to print, it’s strategic. Brands are rediscovering the power of print’s reach, trust, and visual storytelling,” Srivastava added.

What’s driving print’s new momentum?

Print’s comeback isn’t accidental; it’s being driven by data-backed confidence, sharper regional focus, and a renewed belief in the medium’s staying power.

“Advertisers are growing their newspaper investment since they can see the medium deliver in terms of both impact and response. Newspaper advertising is dominated by either large ads designed to create impact or ads that are a call to action, and the medium delivers both of these immediately,” said Girish Agarwal, promoter Director Dainik Bhaskar Newspaper Group.

Surinder Chawla, President, Response,The Times of India, echoed similar sentiments, highlighting how print continues to offer a uniquely credible and immersive environment for brand storytelling.

“I believe advertisers are acknowledging the unique advantages that print brings to their media mix. As a society we are valuing experiences more as we grow, and a digital burnout is setting in. Print is uniquely positioned to break through this clutter and deliver real connections with consumers,” said Chawla.

“Especially with the plethora of innovation possibilities, print is finding new ways to elevate storytelling for brands and the advertisers are recognising this and consequently valuing print as it deserves,” Chawla added.

According to Uday Mohan, COO, Havas Media India, a renewed surge in advertiser interest in vernacular print is being witnessed, with deep trust and unmatched regional reach continuing to be commanded by the medium. Strong momentum is being driven by a focus on local retail and culturally-rooted storytelling in markets where readership remains robust.

While English dailies still hold sway for premium formats, it’s the regional papers that are seeing volume and creative innovation.

“Brands are increasingly aligning with vernacular platforms not just for visibility, but for relevance and resonance. While English newspapers still offer premium, focused formats—especially with jackets and high-impact placements—vernacular titles are where we’re seeing sustained volume and innovation,” Mohan said.

“From regional split ads to contextual formats, the creativity in print today reflects a shift in how brands are leveraging the medium—not just as a channel, but as a trusted voice. With elections, festive seasons, and key campaigns ahead, vernacular will be a pivotal pillar in the media mix,” Mohan added. 

"Print continues to be extremely important for us at Dabur. One of its biggest strengths is geo-targeting — you can run schemes specific to certain areas and regions. For instance, if you want to promote a campaign in just Delhi-NCR or a few specific cities, print allows that precision. That kind of targeted reach is very valuable for an FMCG player like us,” said Dabur India's VP in Marketing, Rajiv Dubey. 

Dubey explained Dabur’s print strategy, “Print offers a very high-impact medium. We usually take only premium positions — mostly front pages. We don’t go for other inventories like page 3 or page 4. The front page creates maximum visibility and talkability, which is essential for brand recall,” he said.

For example, Dabur ran their ‘Chyawanprash’ campaign exclusively in the Delhi-NCR region, and at the same time, they had different campaigns running in other parts of the country. So, they were running multiple versions of creatives simultaneously, each tailored to a specific region. 

The brand has also  experimented with interactivity in print. 

“So print doesn’t have to be static; you can build engaging experiences that bridge offline and online worlds,” he added.

As for spends, Dubey couldn’t share exact figures due to the brand being in a silent period. However he pointed out that print continues to be a significant part of their media mix, and investment in the medium has increased over the past year.

This renewed confidence and strategic approach from advertisers is directly influencing how they are choosing to engage with print, leading to a greater emphasis on impactful and innovative formats.

 

Formats: Smart spending and impactful placements

“It’s not just about spending more, it’s about spending smart. We have seen both impact and frequency driven campaigns - more structured bursts of 3–5 insertions, and a clear preference for formats like jackets, gatefolds, and half-page innovations but also backed by the mid-sized ad campaigns. Volumes are up 15–20% year-on-year in Q1, and the momentum feels very real,” Srivastava, said. 

Manoj Singh, Vice President at Madison Media, points out that Hindi and English publications together account for over 64% of total print ad space — a dominance anchored in reach and credibility.

“The focus on premium ad formats suggests that newspapers are adapting by offering more targeted and high-value advertising options to compete with digital media. 

There is a noticeable shift towards premium ad formats, which are seen as a strategy to maintain relevance in a digital-first world,” Singh said. 

These formats as Srivastava also mentioned include jackets as full-page ads, special supplements, and targeted inserts, which cater to advertisers seeking high-impact placements. 

“This adaptation is crucial as print competes with digital media The emphasis on premium formats is also reflected in the 1% revenue growth in 2024, suggesting that newspapers are successfully monetising high-value ad spaces,” he added. 

 

Print ad spends has made a full recovery

According to the Pitch Madison Advertising Report, after a steep 41% decline in 2020 due to the pandemic, print advertising has steadily climbed back. From Rs 11,925 crore in 2020, the sector bounced to Rs 16,595 crore in 2021 and has continued its upward momentum—reaching Rs 20,272 crore in 2024, finally surpassing pre-COVID levels from 2019. 

This recovery signals not just stability but renewed confidence in the medium among advertisers.

Talking of advertisers, according to Uday Jadhav, CEO - Sakal Media Group,what’s keeping advertisers interested in print is the ROI. 

“The advertisers are getting good returns in the form of response and conversion. Apart from ROI its ability to deliver trust, attention, and brand prestige matters a lot for the advertiser. We’ve seen a noticeable growth in ad volumes over the past year. More brands are returning to print as part of broader, integrated campaigns. Publishers are also packaging print with digital in smarter ways, which helps drive growth across both channels,” Jadhav added. 

Volume-driven look at 2024’s top advertisers

According to the TAM AdEx Print Report, ad space/per publication increased by 57% and 58% respectively in Y 2023 and Y 2024 over Y 2020.

In the latest rankings published in December 2024, the auto and services sectors emerged as the top sector in print media, each contributing 15%of total ad volumes. Education followed closely at 14%, maintaining its strong presence. Banking/finance/investment were at 10% and retail at 9%.

A sharp rise was seen in the corporate/brand Image category, climbing to the 10th position from 14th last year. Meanwhile, personal accessories, food and beverages, personal healthcare, and durables each contributed 4–7% to the total.

The category labeled ‘others’ made up the largest chunk individually at 16%, reflecting a broad base of diverse advertisers outside the top 10.

Maruti Suzuki India retained its position as the top print advertiser in 2024, followed by Hero Motocorp, which climbed to second place from fourth last year. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India rose to the third spot, while SBS Biotech, previously ranked second, slipped to fourth. Reliance Retail held strong at fifth place, maintaining a steady presence among the top advertisers.

The biggest jump came from Samsung India Electronics, which made a remarkable leap from 22nd in 2023 to 6th in 2024. LIC of India moved down slightly to 7th from 5th, while TVS Motor Company and Tata Motors also rose significantly, ranking 8th and 9th respectively after being at 11th and 18th last year. Titan Company rounded out the list at 10th, dropping slightly from 7th place in 2023.

Overall, the dominance of automotive brands is evident, with five out of the top ten advertisers coming from the auto sector.

More than 73,000 advertisers and 97,000 brands advertised exclusively in print during 2024, with no presence in the medium the previous year.

 

Publisher perspective on why print is back on the media plan

According to those in the print business, the medium is seeing a strong comeback, driven by credibility, real response, and growing advertiser confidence. Industry leaders say clients who had migrated to digital are returning to print after realising that online metrics often offer extrapolated numbers without meaningful ROI. Advertisers are now willing to pay higher rates for assured engagement and brand trust.

“In addition to the innovation and experience-creation possibilities, print's ability to offer credible, relevant information and hence create an authentic context for advertising is unmatched. What we offer, hence, is an engaging, multi- sensory and highly trustworthy environment for the brand message to flourish in,” said Chawla.

“Across multiple categories we have seen volumes grow as a result, such as retail, automobiles, education, healthcare, clothing and more. Advertisers in these categories have embraced print as a key component of their brand communications,” he added. 

Chawla sees multiple categories ramping up their print spends, from airlines and travel to telecom and automobiles. Going forward they also anticipate a larger portion of spending being put into innovative print formats and immersive, engaging storytelling as brands push the limits of creativity within the medium. Also, given the educated and affluent audiences that can be reached through print, brands who are on a journey of premiumisation and want to reach affluent consumers will continue to invest in print to reach their target audiences.

Sakal Media Group’s Jadhav echoes similar thoughts on newspapers’ engagement prowess. 

“With growing concerns around online ad clutter, brand safety, and attention spans, print offers a premium, distraction-free experience that aligns with quality storytelling. Brands are rediscovering how print can complement digital efforts — creating moments of pause and brand intimacy. A presence in print now feels almost novel, which can actually make it more effective,” he said. 

Varghese Chandy, Vice President, Marketing & Advertising Sales at Malayala Manorama Co. Ltd highlights a key shift in advertiser and reader behaviour post-pandemic. According to him, while digital platforms initially attracted advertisers due to lower costs, the lack of real response is now pushing them back to print.

“Post pandemic, people were more price sensitive rather than cost effective. This actually affected companies' ROI as they chose options based on absolute cost and that resulted in no response. Another change we have seen is that clients who migrated to digital are coming back to print, as what they get there is only an extrapolated number but no real response. Therefore we believe clients will be willing to pay a higher amount for a higher response,” Chandy said. 

According to Chandy, for Malayala Manorama, bookings for the year 2025–26 have been showing a very positive trend. 

“In Kerala, sectors such as retail, education, and auto are expected to lead in print advertising. It is also being observed that clients are actively seeking integrated solutions and those who are able to offer such comprehensive packages are expected to grow faster than the rest,” he said. 

This renewed momentum is also being reflected in advertiser behaviour, sectoral trends, and audience expectations—pointing to a sustained and evolving revival for print in the quarters ahead.

A striking example of this resurgence comes from Dainik Bhaskar Group, which recorded an impressive circulation growth of 1.5 lakh additional copies in Q1 2025, marking one of the biggest surges for any newspaper in recent times. The group attributes this success to a combination of reader engagement, tech-led distribution, and ground-level execution.

The strategy included real-time data collection by a 900-member survey team, an industry-first OTP-based reader onboarding system, and a high-impact campaign.

Q3 snapshot: Stable revenue trends

With Q4 financials yet to be reported, Q3 numbers offer the latest available snapshot of performance across major print publishers—and the signs are cautiously positive.

During the festive October-November-December quarter of FY25, HT Media’s English daily posted a steady performance, registering 10.5% growth in operating revenue—Rs 489.8 crore compared to Rs 442.9 crore in the same quarter last year. Notably, the publication significantly reduced its losses, narrowing them from Rs 15.14 crore to just Rs 3.24 crore, reflecting tighter operational control and improved efficiency.

DB Corp, while seeing a marginal dip of 0.3% in revenue (Rs 642.6 crore vs Rs 644.7 crore YoY), largely maintained stability in a challenging macroeconomic environment—highlighting resilience in its core business. Overall, the group has registered 20% CAGR growth in advertising for the last 3 years. In FY 2024 , Dainik Bhaskar Group achieved the highest ever top line and bottom line in its history.

Agarwal also pointed out that a drop in newsprint prices has contributed to the sector’s growth.

“Newsprint prices remain soft and with exchange rate correction from INR Rs 88 to current Rs 85 per dollar, in the last 30 days, newsprint prices are likely to remain soft in near future which is expected to add value to the bottom line,” he said. 

Similarly, Jagran Prakashan posted a modest 1% revenue growth, with Q3 revenue rising to Rs 516.5 crore from Rs 510.9 crore in the same quarter last year. While profits saw a dip of 8.4% to Rs 62.1 crore, the company still held its ground with a strong bottom line, indicating continued strength in its operations despite sectoral headwinds.

These are just a few examples that reflect the broader trend of cautious optimism within the print industry.

 

The way ahead

As print continues to reclaim its relevance with a blend of credibility, ROI, and storytelling depth, the outlook remains cautiously optimistic. While publishers have tightened operations and diversified offerings, advertisers are increasingly recognising print’s ability to deliver focused impact in a fragmented media landscape. With Q3 numbers pointing to stability and innovation-led momentum, the industry is now setting its sights on the upcoming festive cycle.

“Looking ahead, we expect a strong pre-festive spike driven by consumer durables, fashion, fintech and election-led government spending will add another layer of intensity, especially in the regional markets. Categories like auto, real estate, BFSI, and education are leading the charge, but we’re also seeing early traction from healthcare, EVs, and sustainability-focused brands,” said Carat’s  Srivastava .

Those in the print business also remain optimistic about print’s prospects.

“We are bullish on Print Media Sector and Indian Un metro market consumption story. The Finance Ministry has also helped the cause by making a desired push for increasing disposable income through income tax benefit for the common man in FY 25-26. Further, the constitution of 8th pay commission, which is expected to increase average pay salary of Govt employee in a range of 35% to 50% and the recent Indian Metrology Department prediction of normal monsoon, these all above triggers, are likely to give urban and rural consumption desired push,” said Agarwal.