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28 March 2024

First Tamil daily launched in UAE

Daily Thanthy is the first Tamil newspaper to be launched in Dubai. (Supplied)

Published
By VM Sathish

The first Tamil newspaper from the Middle East region was launched from Dubai on December 10, 2014. Targetting the Tamil speaking Indian and South Asian community in the UAE and other Gulf countries, Daily Thanthy, the Tamil newspaper which has several editions in India, was officially launched here with a cover price of Dh1 for a 10 page UAE edition.

This is the first time a Tamil newspaper is being launched in Dubai, where a number of Malayalam and other Indian vernacular newspapers are published daily. A trial edition and supplement of Daily Thanthi, rated as the sixth most read Indian newspaper, has already been published and the group has tied up with Tawseel to distribute the newspaper all over the UAE. Overseas Tamil newspapers are published from Malaysia and Singapore, where considerable number of Tamil speaking Indian expatriates live. In Malaysia alone, according to reports, there are 7 Tamil dailies for an estimated readership of 70,000.

Launched with a slogan of ‘bridging the gulf between home and abroad, the UAE edition of Daily Thanthi, brings news from the UAE, Tamil Nadu, India and from around the world for a cover price of Dh1 and a subscription campaign has been going on to attract the Tamil community living in the UAE. Hallo FM, the first Tamil FM Radio Station was launched three years ago and the new Tamil daily is being launched by the same group from Tamil Nadu, India. A number of Tamil film stars and celebrities are flown in for the inaugural issue of the newspaper, which has several editions from different towns in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and an edition from Mumbai.

The Daily Thanthi Group is one of the leading publishing houses from Tamil Nadu and it is the first time that the newspaper started way back is foraying into the Middle East market, where a considerable number of Tamil speaking expatriates live and work. Most of the Tamil speakers are currently reading English newspapers and tune into the Tamil channels, the Internet and radio stations to get the latest news from their home land. A ranking of ten most read newspapers in India by rediff.com lists Daily Thanthi is the sixth most popular daily in India -- Daily Thanthi is ranked 6th with a total readership of 20,305,000. Established by Adithanar, a pioneer in the media industry of Tamil Nadu, it is the first daily newspaper in Tamil Nadu during the Indian freedom struggle.

The newspaper launch has happened at a time when the local newspapers are trying to increase circulation by aggressive subscription campaigns offering freebies and gift vouchers, worth more than the annual newspaper subscription cost. Targeting a market of more than 300,000 Tamil population in the UAE, a full-fledged radio station was launched a few years and the first Tamil newspaper in the UAE is also coming from the Dina Thanti Group.

Back home in Tamil Nadu, the vernacular newspaper business has been witnessing intense competition and annual growth rate of 30 per cent, according to reports quoting Shashi Kumar, Chairman of the Asian College of Journalism.

Recently, the 'Hindu', a 135-year-old English newspaper started venturing into Tamil publishing by planning a Tamil Newspaper title. In the crowded Tamil newspaper market, three brands --Dina Thanti, Dinakaran and Dinamalar.--sell about 3.7 million copies combined a day –with the inclusion of small Tamil dailies, about 4 million Tamil newspapers are sold every day.

The UAE edition is targeting the Tamil speaking community and advertisers targeting the South Indian community. Sun Network from Tamil Nadu had big plans to enter the UAE market by launching the Soorya TV and other television channels, but the plan did not take off. The Tamil community is keenly awaiting the first edition of one of the largest circulated Tamil Dailies.