During the second DNPA Conclave & Digital Impact Awards on Wednesday, a study in partnership with EY was published titled 'Monetizing Digital News: A summary of digital news publishing in India' revealed that the Indian audience has the highest level of trust in online news platforms of legacy newspaper and television brands and the least trust in news received via social media platforms. Online news platforms of legacy news companies have a unique reach of 341 million, as per the study. The age of digitisation and the Internet has forced a significant population of India to hold a smartphone and get on social media platforms to stay up to date.
With the rise of social media, the spread of fake news also rose which created a sense of mistrust in readers when they consumed a piece of information off of it. Around 61 per cent of the survey respondents said that they had encountered fake news, and 33 per cent had difficulty identifying fake news.
According to the report, which was unveiled during the conclave, digital news reached over 459 million people in the year 2023. Notably, it is slightly lower than the past two years as the reach of digital news in India in 2022 was recorded at 473 million and in 2021, it was recorded at 467 million.
Out of this 459 million people, on average, consumers used more than two platforms to access news, with 38 per cent consuming online news more than once a day.
Preferred Platforms, Format & Average Consumption Time
As per the report, the majority of the population consumed online news through the Web rather than sticking to any particular app. According to EY's survey, 83 per cent of consumers consumed online news via the Web and only a mere 10 per cent used some specific apps for it. The remaining 6 per cent consumed news through various other sources.
In this, a trend has been seen. Smartphones are very handy as compared to PCs and laptops due to which 86 per cent of people consume news through their smartphones only. Only 14 per cent use desktops or laptops for this consumption. People are literally having the world before their thumbs with the help of smartphones.
Now, smartphones have multiple uses and people often use them for entertainment purposes such as watching Instagram reels which allegedly has reduced their attention span. On average, an Indian consumer spends around 135 minutes per month to consume news digitally. That means, a person spends even less than four minutes per day to stay up-to-date with the world. In 2022, the average consumption time per month was 159 minutes and in 2021 it was 144 minutes. It is noteworthy that in 2020, the year when we witnessed COVID-19's outbreak, the average consumption time was recorded at 165 minutes per month.
Financial Woes
In spite of the considerable potential in the realm of digital news, the industry grapples with notable financial challenges. In India, digital media manages to amass advertising revenues of Rs 40,835 crore, yet news generation companies only receive a modest 4% share, amounting to Rs 1,545 crore. This stands in stark contrast to the 10-11 per cent share they secure from television advertising.
Furthermore, subscription revenues for digital news companies amount to Rs 184 crore, constituting 11 per cent of their total revenues. However, achieving profitability remains an obstacle, as only 56 per cent of digital news publishers report positive financial outcomes in their online ventures.
A substantial portion of revenues, accounting for 49 per cent, is dedicated to the cost of news gathering. Additionally, 44 per cent is allocated towards customer acquisition and technology development, highlighting the intricate financial landscape faced by digital news entities.