Ei Samay Sangbadpatra

Updated on Dec 06, 2023

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Type Daily newspaper Owner(s) The Times Group Editor Suman Chattopadhyay		Format Broadsheet Publisher The Times Group Founded 15 October 2012

Ei Samay Sangbadpatra is a Bengali-language broadsheet daily newspaper from The Times Group. It was launched as a motive to enter into a head to head competition with Anandabazar Patrika (and its recently launched sister publication, the tabloid Ebela), which is the largest circulated Bengali daily in India, and is also one of the dominant leaders in the Bengali newspaper market. It is owned and published by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. which is owned by the Sahu Jain family.

This Ei Samay newspaper is considered as a challenge thrown by BCCL to ABP group. Sensing the tough challenge, ABP Group started a huge media advertising campaign just a month after the launch of Ei Samay. The introductory price of this newspaper was ₹1 (1.5¢ US) per copy. According to company officials, this newspaper targets SEC A and A+, 20- to 35-year-old Bengalis. From April 2013, it revised its price down to Rs. 2.50 from Mon-Fri and Rs.3 on Sat-Sun from its earlier price of Rs.4 & Rs.5 respectively. It has been able to eat up some circulation from Bartaman in Kolkata, but it lacks a strong presence in the districts. It is also not available in North Bengal. After its launch the established dailies like Bartaman and Sangbad Pratidin have also upped the ante by including more pages and sections.

Pre-launch scenario

The vernacular print media space in West Bengal comprises four major Bengali dailies: Anandabazar Patrika, Aajkaal, Bartaman and Sangbad Pratidin. Out of these, Anandabazar Patrika is said to be the dominant leader in the Bengali print media space and ranks 6th among the top 10 vernacular dailies in India as per Indian Readership Survey 2012, with a readership of about 59 lakhs.