National 6 (Spotlight Weekly)

PRICE WAR
Race to Survive

After the reduction of price by The Kathmandu Post, the country’s two leading English dailies are on the battle to win over the readers through price-cutting measures

By A CORRESPONDENT

On the basis of news, views and other contents, the Nepalese media seem to be engaged hardly in any competition. In the recent months, the coverage of news and views in different newspapers has appeared similar in their meanings and intentions. But there is the war of competition going on in another front – price.

Just a few months after change in the editor of The Kathmandu Post, the newspaper management cut the price of the daily by more than fifty percent and fixed it at Rs.1.50 even as they announced the additional pages covering the city news. In its announcement, Kantipur Publication said that the new price has been set offering readers easy access to their publication.

Newspapers : Mushrooming Growth

Although Kantipur Publication cited the reason in reducing its price, everybody understands what might have prompted them to go for such a hefty price reduction. Following the publication of The Himalayan Times (THT) daily with the price of Rs.2, The Kathmandu Post was said to have been facing unhealthy competition but although its market suffered its former editor Yubaraj Ghimire stressed on the improvement in quality news and content.

After the publication of THT, Space Today, another English daily associated with the Space Times Publication, has already closed down but The Kathamndu Post continued to survive in the market competing with THT.

On the basis of content, priority and display of news and opinion, Nepal’s two English dailies, The Himalayan Times - Indian investment and The Kathmandu Post - Nepalese investment, did not have much difference. Because of the professional handling by Indian copy editors and page makers, THT came up with different layout.

“THT has been selling the newspapers virtually with zero cost offering papers at 10 times lower than its original cost but no one raised the question who has been pumping such a huge amount of money to sustain the paper. Given the market base and the economy, it is impossible to recover the loss borne by THT,” said an economist.

THT publishers seem happy wasting money in business. It seems that the publication will distribute the newspaper free of cost in case of more competition. The question remains whether business is guided by generosity or profit.

Unlike in India and other parts of the developed countries, there is no adequate room for advertisement and huge circulation, which will help reduce the cost of production. In a small market like Kathmandu where readership of English is not much, competition is tough and there are limited economic basis to recover the investment.

“With the advent of THT, print journalism has not been the same again in the country and the new dynamics will not allow it to go back to the old days. THT takes this opportunity to renew its pledge of engaging in healthy competition for the greater public good,” writes THT in its editorial on January 16, 2004 issue – in response to the reduction of the price by The Kathmandu Post.

In its editorial, THT came down heavily on its rival for their behavior in the initial time of publication but did not disclose its secrecy of survival in the last two years in the market. “By denying Visa to the publication, Pakistani Embassy has hinted some how where the sources of investment might have come from,” said a senior journalist.

This is not first time newspapers engaged in the price war here. Earlier Kantipur Publication had also reduced its price paving the way for other newspapers to follow them. Nepal Samacharpatra, too, sold its publication at Rs. 2 but the price war did not last long till the competition was only among Nepalese investors. The arrival of foreign investment seems to have changed the whole scenario. In the media race, two government dailies Gorkhapatra and The Rising Nepal are exception. For the Kantipur Publication, it has to pump huge money into the Post earned through Kantipur, Nepali daily to compete with THT.

Instead of engaging in unhealthy price war, which would harm all in the long run, it would have been better had there been competition based on quality and content of news and views.