For a long time print was seen as a popular and a dominant medium in the Indian scenario. The Annual Report of the Registrar of Newspapers for India lists 41 papers that are over hundred years old.
However over the years, other media such as radio, cinema & TV have grown at the expense of Print. This is more so in the case of television. Television experienced its first phase of growth after going colour in 1982; the next boom began with the satellite invasion in 1991. As a result, the last decade has seen a hugely increased choice for the Indian audience who have enthusiastically welcomed the greater diversity.
Television has acted as a catalyst not only in impacting other media but influencing and changing culture and consumption habits. The change has resulted in a shift in focus from broadcasting to narrow casting, from distribution to content, from being led by cost to being led by value, from being driven by ownership/editorial interests to being consumer driven. With all the growth and the competition, media conglomerates have looked to expand their opportunities and protect their business across states and across media.

This propagation of media has in a way been the result of technology. Over time, various technologies have been responsible for changing the face of the Indian Media and will continue to do so. For instance, in the coming years, TV will also provide content to net with the expansion of bandwidth. Thanks to the latest technology, multi media convergence is now possible such as Broadbanding, WAP, Internet on cable, News through the short messaging system (SMS). In other words the audience now has more choice and greater accessibility to information. All this will permit the media giants to diversify since an information hungry audience is ready to digest this change. Not just that, Indian Media continues to reap the benefits of the fastest growing economies of the world. The opening up of the economy, rise in per capita income, the age break up, the escalation in urban population, the constant increase in literacy rate in India are some of the factors that have made conditions favorable for media giants to diversify into related or unrelated areas. For example, constant growth in literacy rate makes innovations in print viable and therefore extremely popular with the advertisers. The age break up works in favor of producing niche or specialized content across media, the rise in per capita income has provided greater purchasing power in the hands of the Indian consumer giving them a chance to explore and venture into new territories.

This increase in per capita income has spurred the growth of brands, which in turn has provided both the opportunity as well as the need in the growth of advertising & media.
The bottom line, therefore, is that the Indian audience is getting more aware of the surroundings around them and craving for more information. In such a context, diversifying would help to reach out to the consumer in a different and a more meaningful manner.
Diversifying has undoubted advantages for both the audience as well as for the media owner. For the audience, there is extended choice, better entertainment, a broader international perspective, more credible news reporting and a greater sense of inclusiveness. On the other hand for the media owner it means higher quality entertainment programming, possibility of developing new markets, retaining loyal audience by giving him greater than before options. Diversification in media could take a number of forms. For example, within Print separate newspapers for Morning, Afternoon, and Evening could help to leverage the brand equities that have been built over the years. The recent launch of the afternoon newspaper in Delhi - ‘Today’ by the India Today group is an example of filling a need gap. An afternoon newspaper will surely help in giving a unique shape to this medium. In Television, for certain markets having potential, content customisation will be able to provide value to the viewer. However, what the media owners need to keep in mind is that the content will be the key to drive future media and in years to come will play a vital role in the success of a company. A feature across media would be to have minimal wastage of content so as to provide value to the consumer. Providing synergies across media will not just drive the media owners but would also be helpful in cultivating advertising opportunities.