Losses force DNA newspaper to close print edition, paper to go digital now
MUMBAI: Citing commercial losses, the financially troubled Essel Group of Subhash Chandra on Wednesday announced a withdrawal of its daily newspaper, DNA.
The 2005-founded morninger will close down its print editions in the financial capital and Ahmedabad from Thursday and retain only the digital media operations.
The Chandra family is going through financial difficulties as some of its business bets have gone awry and the liquidity crisis made it difficult to refinance debt.
They are selling their promoter holding, over 90 per cent of it is pledged, to repay lenders.
The group still owes around Rs 7,000 crore to lenders after repaying over Rs 6,500 crore since March.
"The decision has been taken by the Company in order to optimize cost and reduce the losses," Essel Group entity Diligent Media Corporation, which runs the newspaper, said in a late evening statement.
"In this rapidly evolving market, a very thin line remains between the print and digital. There's duplicity in print and digital readership and the trend shows that our readers, especially the youngsters, prefer reading on their mobiles rather than in print. Only the medium is changing, not us," a front-page note by the editor said.
The note said DNA is turning digital and sought reader's support in the "new and challenging phase".
The announcement comes at a time when globally many media brands are retreating from the print side, like the popular magazine Newsweek, or tweaking their strategies for convergent media.
The DNA began from Mumbai in July 2005, when the rising ad-spend amid a boom in economic growth had led to entry of many new players in the financial capital.
The Hindustan Times had launched its city edition the same month, while the market leader Times of India's had introduced a tabloid, The Mumbai Mirror, just a few months before.
The HT group also launched a new business daily -The Mint with multiple editions since 2007.
The DNA said it will continue as a web-portal and it is also planning to soon launch a mobile application which will focus more on delivering video-based original content.
Readers having long term subscriptions can get a refund, the note said.
There have been many exits from the newsroom in recent past, but there was no word on the staff at the newspaper and how they will be accommodated.
The management was scheduled to have a townhall meeting during the day.
The DNA is the third paper to be closed in 2019 alone.
While the Deccan Chronicle Group-owned Financial Chronicle was shuttered earlier this year and merged with the parent's English broadsheet, Mukesh Ambani had made entry into the print with First Post in January but chose to wind up within six months.
The city-based eveninger Afternoon was also shut earlier in the earlier.