Newspaper majors’ non-print revenue rises to a quarter: Crisil Ratings

India’s largest newspaper groups are no longer relying on print alone to preserve relevance or protect credit quality. Nonprint businesses — spanning digital platforms, out-of-home advertising and event management — are expected to contribute around a quarter of revenue this fiscal, up from ~13% in fiscal 2019, providing a hedge against the structural slowdown in the traditional print business. That 11-13 percentage points (pps) jump 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.

The urgency of this transition is clear. The circulation base of large newspaper companies fell to ~10 million in 2025 from ~15 million in 2019 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.

Hence, says Manish Gupta, Senior Director and Deputy Chief Rating Officer, Crisil Ratings, “For large newspaper publishers, diversification is no longer optional. 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. 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.”

The pivot will also help in preserving profitability. While non-print businesses are structurally less profitable than the traditional print segment, margins are expected to remain stable at 12-13% this fiscal, supported by scale benefits in digital and adjacent businesses. This gain is expected to offset the inherently lower margins in out-of-home advertising and event management, where variable costs are higher and competition remains intense. Meanwhile, digital operations are steadily reducing Ebitda losses as they move beyond incubation and gain operating scale.

Importantly, large publishers are expected to sustain their credit profiles despite the changing revenue mix. 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.

Says Ankit Hakhu, Director, Crisil Ratings, “Credit resilience will be anchored less in the trajectory of print business and more in the strength of balance sheets. Nearly 90% of net worth is held in liquid and investment assets, including financial assets and cash equivalents. The income from these assets, together with low leverage, should help cushion moderation in core operating accruals as publishers build scale in newer businesses.”

A sharper-than-expected decline in circulation, slower monetisation of digital platforms or delayed scale-up of non-print businesses will bear watching.