D B Corp Limited was originally incorporated on October 27, 1995 with the Multi-Tech Energy Limited. On December 1, 2005, the name of the Company was changed from Multi-Tech Energy Limited to D B Corp Limited. The Company is India's largest and a diversified media conglomerate with presence across Print, Radio and Digital. Headquartered in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, the Company is in the business of publishing newspapers, radio broadcasting, digital platform for news and event management. The major brands in publishing business are Dainik Bhaskar' (Hindi daily), Divya Bhaskar' and Saurashtra Samachar' (Gujarati dailies), Divya Marathi' (Marathi daily) and monthly magazines such as Aha Zindagi', Bal Bhaskar', etc. Digital business includes mobile applications and websites of dainikbhaskar.com, divyabhaskar.com, dailybhaskar.com, divyamarathi. com and homeonline.com. Presently, the Company's radio station is on air in 30 cities under the brand name My FM'. The frequency allotted to the Company's radio station is 94.3.
As India's largest print media company, DBCL publishes 6 newspapers - Dainik Bhaskar (46 editions), Divya Bhaskar (9 editions), Divya Marathi (6 editions), Saurashtra Samachar, DB Star and DB Post in 4 languages i.e., Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and English. DBCL is present across 12 states in India with a footprint in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Bihar.
The company's other business interests span across radio and digital mediums. In the FM radio segment, the brand has a strong presence in '94.3 MY FM' available in 7 states and 30 cities creating a valuable package to advertisers in Tier II and III cities, where Dainik Bhaskar is already a leader in its print business.
DBCL also has a strong online presence with 9 Internet portals with a very formidable and strong position in almost 67% of Indian language media space, in terms of Unique Visitors and Page Views. Further, it is the dominant No.1 digital player in various Indian languages, i.e., Hindi and Gujarati, alongside 4 actively available and well-used mobile apps - Dainik Bhaskar and Divya Bhaskar.
As per the Scheme of Arrangement, the business of Publication, including the assets and liabilities, intellectual property rights, employees and printing of newspaper under the title 'Dainik Bhaskar' and 'Divya Bhaskar' and the Wind Farm Business of Writers and Publishers Limited were transferred to the Company as a going concern with effect from April 1, 2005.
In the year 2006, the company launched Ujjain, Sagar editions of 'Dainik Bhaskar' and Rajkot Edition of 'Divya Bhaskar'. Also, they launched a new edition of 'Dainik Bhaskar' in Punjab. The company's subsidiary, Synergy Media Entertainment Ltd acquired 17 licenses for their FM Radio operations and also launched operations in Jaipur.
In the year 2007, the company launched Hindi edition of 'Dainik Bhaskar' from Ludhiana. They launched new edition of 'Divya Bhaskar' in Gujarat. Also, they entered into a publication license agreement with Diligent Media Corporation Ltd to print, edit, publish, circulate, and market the Newspaper DNA-Daily News & Analysis including its supplements, 'After Hrs.', 'DNA Sport', 'DNA Academy', 'DNA Life', 'DNA ME' and 'DNA YA' in the entire state of Gujarat. The company's subsidiary, Synergy Media Entertainment Ltd launched 13 FM radio stations at various locations in India. In June 2007, as per the scheme of arrangement, the internet division of Indiainfo was transferred to the company.
In the year 2008, the company's new brand 'DB Star' was published from Indore and Bhopal. They launched 'Business Bhaskar' in Bhopal, Indore, Raipur, Panipat, New Delhi, Jalandhar and Ludhiana. Also, they entered into a publication license agreement with Diligent Media Corporation Ltd to print, edit, publish, circulate, and market editions of DNA-Daily News & Analysis including its supplements, 'After Hrs.', 'DNA Sport', 'DNA Academy', 'DNA Life', 'DNA ME' and 'DNA YA' in the entire state of Rajasthan. Their subsidiary, Synergy Media Entertainment Ltd launched three FM radio stations at Kota, Jabalpur and Raipur.
During the year 2008-09, the company launched Dainik Bhaskar in Jagdalpur, Bhilai, Nagour, Pali, Ratlam, Shimla and Dehradun. In September 2008, they launched Business Bhaskar in New Delhi.
In August 2010, the company launched the new edition of Dainik Bhaskar in Ranchi. In September 2010, the company launched Dainik Bhaskar at Bhatinda in Punjab and Itarsi in Madhya Pradesh. Also, the company launched full fledged printing centres in Sirohi and Barmet in Rajasthan for their brand Dainik Bhaskar to further strengthen their readership.
During the financial year ended 31 March 2014, D B Corp Limited (DBCL) delivered a robust operating performance amidst a challenging market environment. Focus on sustaining and extending leadership in core markets, consistent focus on operational efficiencies as well as strong performance across print and non-print segments have enabled the company to report significant growth. Associations with leading media brands for exclusive, unique content and realignment of corporate sales and marketing strategy with the aim of providing greater focus to advertisers at every state level has contributed extensively in achieving the growth.
With the necessary strategic platform already set at the start of the year, the company was able to capture higher ad revenue from regional markets under various segments.
In Maharashtra, the company launched new editions at Akola and Amaravati. Divya Marathi maintained strong growth momentum across all 7 editions during the year. Apart from further building readership in the existing markets, the company also entered into the state of Bihar with the launch of Patna edition in Q4 March 2014.
On the infrastructure front, the company continued to invest in upgrading the printing facilities to provide quality product at all the locations and building efficiencies of advanced technology.
On the corporate front, DBCL integrated its internet and interactive mobile services business which was housed in its wholly-owned subsidiary I Media Corp Ltd. (IMCL) by demerging the same from IMCL and merging into DBCL. The demerger, which was approved by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh, Principal Seat at Jabalpur vide its order dated 27 March, 2014, became effective from 1 April 2013 (Appointed Date). This demerger brought the 3 major segments viz. Print, Radio & Internet under one company. As a result of this demerger, DBCL's wholly-owned subsidiary IMCL now carries out only events related business.
During the year, DBCL sold its entire stake of 51 % held in Divya Prabhat Publications Private Limited (DPPPL) to Mr. Prabhat Sojatia and Mr. Sunil Sojatia by terminating the Shareholders' Agreement dated 1 October, 2011 executed between the two companies and members of the Sojatia family. Accordingly, DPPPL had ceased to be a subsidiary of DBCL effective close of business hours on 30 June 2013.
During the financial year ended 31 March 2015, D B Corp Limited (DBCL) continued to focus on strengthening its presence in the existing markets of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh in its print media business.
D B Corp Limited (DBCL) implemented advertisement yield strategy agenda, by taking a substantial hike in print media advertising rates, at the beginning of financial year 2015-16. It faced some resistance from advertisers and media agencies initially and hence, the advertising revenue growth witnessed yearly decline.
During the year, DBCL successfully completed its Bihar roll-out. The company launched new editions in Bhagalpur, Gaya and Muzaffarpur, besides, 7 district editions, thus extending its reach and presence to the entire geography of Bihar.
The company launched a broadsheet English language newspaper 'DB Post' from Bhopal. DB Post is a compact, smart product catering to the youth and English readership. It was launched as a crisp product to fill an important reader demand in the region, and has met with satisfactory interest.
During the year, the company launched Money Bhaskar App, the first Multi-lingual Business app in India on the iOS and Android platforms.
DBCL's Radio Business continued to perform exceptionally well in 2015-16. During the year, the radio business bagged new station license for 13 new radio stations in major Tier II cities of India, in majority of which DBCL has presence in print business as well.
With regard to Digital Business, www.dainikbhaskar.com introduced video bulletin that enables the users to see and hear the news rather than just reading it crossing a 13 million video view during the month of March 2016. It helped to increase engagement and to cross the language barrier and tap the English reader who also watches Hindi video.
During the year, www.moneybhaskar.com was launched in Gujarati for more localized and focused business news catering to the large Gujarati diaspora and business community.
DB Digital introduced two new websites gadgets.bhaskar.com and food.bhaskar.com during the year under review.
DB Digital saw a phenomenal growth in FY 2015-16 in terms of Unique Visitors (UV) and Page per Visit (PV). DB Digital subsuming of eleven digital portals has breached 1,197 million PV and 34 million UV mark.
During the financial year ended 31 March 2017, D B Corp Limited (DBCL) maintained its focus on editorial strategy which has led to significant improvement in quality of editorial content, greater readership delight and growth. As per Press In India Report 2015-16 prepared by Registrar of Newspapers of India (RNI), Dainik Bhakar becomes the nation's largest circulated multi-edition daily. Dainik Bhaskar was awarded ISO-9001:2015 certification for Quality Management Systems in its newspaper distribution function and is probably the only newspaper organisation in India to receive such certification.
The company's Radio Business continued to perform exceptionally well in FY 2016-17.
DB Digital saw a phenomenal growth in FY 2016-17 in terms of Unique Visitors (UV) and Page per Visit (PV). During FY 2016-17, DB Digital leveraged its various assets. DBCL introduced a live video streaming platform called Bhaskar Live' and a UGC video platform for its readers to share their live feeds and reach out to 90 million users.
On 1 August 2016, DBCL launched its real estate portal homeonline.com. It offers end to end services to home buyers from purchase to shifting into new house offering value added services - Vaastu compliance, home decor, furnishings, maintenance, etc. In a span of 8 months, Homeonline.com served more than ~100K property seekers online, connecting 10,000+ property owners with home seekers in Bhopal and Raipur.
During the year under review, DBCL diluted its entire shareholding in I Media Corp Limited (IMCL) to DB Infomedia Pvt. Ltd. (DBIPL) for a lumpsum consideration, thereby making it a step-down subsidiary of the company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of DBIPL.
During the year, DBCL consolidated its shareholding held in DBIPL by purchase of 5,000 shares from the minority shareholder. The said purchase was in accordance with the terms of Share Subscription and Shareholders' Agreement dated 16 April 2015 executed by the company with the minority shareholder and DBIPL. Consequent to the purchase, DBIPL has become wholly-owned subsidiary of DBCL.
As per the terms of Share Subscription and Shareholders' Agreement executed by DBCL with DBIPL and the minority shareholder, DBCL had subscribed to 10,00,000 0.01% Compulsorily Convertible Debentures (CCDs) of Rs. 10/- each. As per the terms of issue, the said CCDs were converted into equivalent number of equity shares and accordingly 10,00,000 equity shares of face value of Rs. 10/- each were allotted to DBCL by the Board of DBIPL.
During the year under review, upon recommendations of the Audit Committee, the Board of Directors of DBCL at its meeting held on 19 January 2017 approved a Composite Scheme of Arrangement and Amalgamation between DBCL and its subsidiaries; I Media Corp Limited (IMCL / Transferor Company) and DB Infomedia Private Limited (DBIPL / Demerged Company / Transferee Company). Under this Composite Scheme, IMCL was proposed to be amalgamated into DBIPL and thereafter, the Internet Business of DBIPL was to be hived-off / demerged into DBCL. The said Composite Scheme was approved by the Board of respective subsidiary companies as well. However, at the meeting held on 18 May 2017, the Board of Directors upon recommendation of the Audit Committee, re-evaluated the validity of the above Scheme and came to the conclusion that in light of the current business environment, the proposed Composite Scheme will no longer give any extra benefits to the company and its stakeholders. Hence, a decision was taken to withdraw the Composite Scheme of Arrangement and Amalgamation as aforesaid and not to be acted upon further.
During the financial year ended 31 March 2018, D B Corp Limited (DBCL) maintained its focus on editorial strategy which has led to significant improvement in quality of editorial content, greater readership delight and growth. Dainik Bhaskar newspaper continues to be the Nation's largest circulated multi-edition daily as per Press In India Report 2016-17 prepared by the Registrar of Newspapers of India (RNI).
During FY 2017-18, the company's circulation strategy was complemented by strong editorial and product enrichment efforts along with unique and impactful reader engagement initiatives.
During the year under review, the company executed a challenging and ambitious Circulation Expansion strategy in its legacy markets of Rajasthan, Gujarat and in the newer market of Bihar. The circulation copies increased from an average of 50.4 lakh copies at the start of the initiative in July 2017 to 57.9 lakh copies by the end of the year i.e. a growth of around 15% in a 9-month's period; and this entire circulation increase was achieved at a higher cover price.
Dainik Bhaskar also marked their expansion into Gujarat and launched the Surat edition on 30 April 2017, establishing a strong presence in a large cosmopolitan city with almost 28 lakhs of the non-Gujarati speaking population. Dainik Bhaskar successfully tapped the existing potential amongst Surat's non-Gujarati speaking, multicultural, industrialised households, who have migrated from neighbouring states like Rajasthan, NCR, Punjab, Haryana UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand.
The company's Radio Business continued to perform exceptionally well in FY 2017-18. MY FM completed the fastest roll out of all 13 newly acquired stations under Batch I of Phase III and expanded the company's reach to 7 states across 30 cities, being the largest player in the Rest of Maharashtra and No. 1 in Chandigarh / Haryana / Punjab / Rajasthan / Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Innovative and unique activation initiatives were undertaken throughout the fiscal that strengthened 94.3 MY FM's connect with listeners and leading consumer brands alike.
During the year under review, DB Digital's focus was strongly on technology for continuous optimisation, better user engagement and maximising ROI to advertisers. DB Digital launched Wisdom' an in-house analytics and data intelligence proprietary tool that supports the editorial team with real-time insights on content.
The company's real estate portal homeonline.com served more than ~1.3 mn home-seeking users online, connecting 80,000+ home seekers with property owners/ builders in Bhopal, Raipur, Indore, Jaipur and Ahmedabad. More than 75,000 properties and 900+ projects were made available to home seekers in Bhopal, Raipur, Indore, Jaipur and Ahmedabad.
DBCL's shareholders approved Buyback proposal for buy-back of up to 92,00,000 fully paid-up equity shares of Rs. 10/- each (being approx. 5% of the total paid-up equity share capital of the Company as on 31st March, 2018) at a price of Rs. 340/- per equity share on a proportionate basis through tender offer for an aggregate amount of Rs. 312.80 crore (excluding transaction cost viz. brokerage, applicable taxes such as securities transaction tax, stamp duty and goods and service tax, etc.). The approval for Buyback proposal was accorded by the shareholders of the company by passing the enabling Special Resolution through Postal Ballot as per statutory requirements in this regard, the results of which were declared by the company on 7 July 2018. The Record Date for determining the eligibility of the shareholders to participate in the Buyback is set as 18 July 2018. The company will be completing the Buyback within 12 months from the date of Special Resolution passed approving the proposed Buyback.
During FY 2019, the Company launched new readers' engagement scheme Run Banao Karodon Ke Inaam Paao' to encash the ensuing cricket season - starting from India-Australia series, followed by IPL and then ICC World Cup. Shikhar Dhawan was roped in as an ambassador to garner interest among non-readers, which duly reflected in the circulation number.
In FY 2019, the Company launched Mahabharat 2019' an exclusive drive at Pan-India level on Lok Sabha election with the introduction of special election jacket and special election pages. The initiative continues to gather huge readership appeal through various special properties on election with the aim to bring extensive ground coverage and in-depth analysis for its readers.
MY FM concluded a massive 360-degree campaign Aapki Marzi' for its listeners in Maharashtra in order to keep the content in sync with the listeners' expectations. Marathi content was expanded across the stations in the state, basis the feedback received. MY FM launched this new show to infuse fun, positive and light-hearted listening during the late evening time featuring the non-clich on-air friend Dev' in FY19.
In FY 2019, the company launched Paison ka Ped' in 11 cities - India's First Radio Reality Show where people from various walks of life are selected through a series of auditions and interviews.
In FY 2019, MY FM Jashn' concluded in Jaipur and Indore. Events were starred by two mega artist Vipul Goel (Stand-up Comedian) and Kavi Sammelan Kumar Vishwas and Team which was attended by over 10,000 audiences in both the cities.
In FY19, MY FM concluded the largest painting competition in Tier II and III markets with a participation of ~2.7 Lakh kids for Rangrezz' Season 5.In Print business, the Hansa Research Group undertook a commissioned Bihar Readership Research in July 2018 to gauge the readership of various Hindi Newspapers, their readership profile, key product consumptions, readers' engagement and brand satisfaction. As per this readership report, Dainik Bhaskar was at No. 2 position with an Average Issue Readership (AIR) of 9.11 Lakh, while the legacy player had an AIR of 9.98 Lakh readers.
94.3 MY FM launched distinctive content offerings in new formats in 2020. Launched teentalkindia.com' - an emotional wellbeing platform for teenagers and young adults in India.
Innovative Readers Scheme, such as Jeeto 21 Crore' was launched to attract new readers to Switch to Bhaskar' in 2021. 24 mega editions launched across markets in 2022. Dainik Bhaskar launched the 'New Era Initiative' with a primary focus of transition from leadership to dominance in 2023.