The Daily Star
The Daily Star is Bangladesh's largest English-language daily newspaper, founded in 1991 and headquartered in Dhaka. It publishes across print, website, and e-paper, serving general readers in Bangladesh and the global Bangladeshi diaspora with news, business, sports, culture, and opinion coverage funded by advertising and subscriptions.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1991
- HeadquartersDhaka, Bangladesh
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What The Daily Star does
The Daily Star is Bangladesh's largest English-language daily newspaper, founded in 1991 and headquartered in Dhaka. It operates a multi-platform news business spanning print, a main website (thedailystar.net), a Bengali-language sister site (bangla.thedailystar.net), and an e-paper platform (epaper.thedailystar.net), covering news, politics, governance, business, sports, culture, lifestyle, and youth content. The publication also runs premium sections under the DS+ banner, including investigative stories, roundtables, and supplements, and maintains an extensive archive.
The company generates revenue through two primary streams: advertising (evidenced by a dedicated advertisement section on its site) and recurring subscriptions covering both print newspaper sales and digital/e-paper access. Distribution is direct-to-consumer, reaching general public readers in Bangladesh as well as the Bangladeshi diaspora globally. The publication additionally positions itself as a convening platform for policy discourse, hosting events such as the November 2025 'From Risk to Resilience' climate-risk insurance roundtable with the World Food Programme and OXFAM at The Daily Star Centre in Dhaka, and conducting diaspora engagement forums abroad.
In December 2025, the company demonstrated operational resilience when its head office was attacked and set ablaze during coordinated unrest, causing approximately Tk 40 crore (~$2 million) in damage; it resumed publication within 15 hours under the headline 'Unbowed'. Ownership is private with Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam as the named leader. No funding rounds, parent company, or public listing have been disclosed, and the underlying technology stack is not publicly detailed.
The Daily Star firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Daily Star
- Legal name
- The Daily Star
- Website
- https://thedailystar.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1991
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- The Daily Star is Bangladesh's largest English-language daily newspaper, founded in 1991 and headquartered in Dhaka. It publishes across print, website, and e-paper, serving general readers in Bangladesh and the global Bangladeshi diaspora with news, business, sports, culture, and opinion coverage funded by advertising and subscriptions.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Daily Star industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Newspaper Publishing
- NAICS
- Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper Publishers (51311)
- SIC
- Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)
- akta.pro primary industry
- National & General-Interest Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAA)
Keywords
Where The Daily Star is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Dhaka
- HQ country
- Bangladesh
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices2 records
Markets served
The Daily Star business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Advertising: The newspaper generates revenue through advertising, as evidenced by the dedicated advertisement section on its website.
- Print and Digital Subscriptions: Revenue from print newspaper sales and digital subscription services including e-paper access.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels3 records
The Daily Star product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Daily Star publishes Bangladesh's largest English-language national daily newspaper, distributed in print and across digital channels. The newspaper provides comprehensive coverage of Bangladeshi and international news, politics, governance, business, sports, culture, lifestyle, youth content, and opinion, and operates a digital E-Paper platform that replicates the print edition for online and mobile readers. It also maintains a Bengali-language digital edition for Bangla-speaking readers.
Product overview
The Daily Star operates as Bangladesh's largest English-language newspaper, offering a unified news platform across print and digital channels. The core product is the main newspaper publication, complemented by a digital E-Paper version for online readers. The portfolio includes coverage across news, opinion, business, sports, lifestyle, culture, and specialized sections like DS+ for premium content.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- The Daily Star (National Daily Newspaper) Bangladesh's leading English-language national daily newspaper offering breaking news, politics, business, sports, culture, lifestyle, and opinion content across print and digital platforms, targeted at English-speaking general readers in Bangladesh and the Bangladeshi diaspora.
- The Daily Star E-Paper Digital replica of The Daily Star's print edition allowing subscribers to read the newspaper online with full layout fidelity on desktop and mobile devices.
Companies that use The Daily Star
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
The Daily Star technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Daily Star partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- World Food Programme (WFP)minorThe Daily Star co-organized a roundtable titled 'From Risk to Resilience' with the World Food Programme and OXFAM at The Daily Star Centre in Dhaka to discuss mainstreaming climate risk insurance into Bangladesh's national resilience framework.
- OXFAMminorJointly organized a climate risk insurance roundtable with The Daily Star and WFP, bringing together participants from Green Delta Insurance, Sadharan Bima Corporation, FAO, UNDP, and government ministries to discuss pilot programs protecting farmers and vulnerable populations.
- Queen Mary University of LondonminorHost institution for The Daily Star's interactive discussion with the Bangladeshi diaspora in London, marking the beginning of a sustained effort to deepen the newspaper's engagement with overseas readers.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
The Daily Star competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Prothom Alo: Bangladesh's largest Bangla-language daily newspaper and The Daily Star's primary competitor in the domestic market. Both papers were targeted in the coordinated December 2025 arson attacks, and they compete directly for advertising spend and readership across Bangladesh's news media landscape.
- Dhaka Tribune: English-language daily newspaper based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Operates a similar digital-first publishing model targeting English-speaking Bangladeshi readers, advertisers, and the diaspora — directly overlapping The Daily Star's core audience and advertiser base.
- The Business Standard: English-language daily newspaper in Bangladesh focused on business and policy coverage. Competes for the same English-speaking professional readership, advertising budget, and subscription wallet as The Daily Star's DS+ and Business sections.
- Daily Sun: Bangladesh-based English-language daily newspaper. Competes directly with The Daily Star for English-speaking readers, advertising, and digital subscriptions within the same domestic market.
- New Age (Bangladesh): English-language daily newspaper published in Dhaka. Positioned in the same English-reading segment with overlapping editorial coverage and advertiser base, making it a direct peer for benchmarking readership and ad rates.
- Dawn: Pakistan's flagship English-language daily newspaper. Operates an analogous print + digital model serving South Asian English-speaking readers and the Pakistani diaspora, making it a strong regional peer for editorial positioning and revenue mix benchmarking.
- The Daily Observer (Bangladesh): Long-established English-language daily in Bangladesh. Competes for the same English-reading audience and advertisers, and provides a useful comparison point for The Daily Star's domestic market share trajectory.
Broad incumbents
- The Hindu: One of India's largest and most established English-language dailies. Operates a broadly similar editorial and multi-platform model serving English-speaking readers in South Asia, but at materially greater scale and with a deeper archive and premium subscription product.
- Hindustan Times: Major Indian English-language daily newspaper with national reach and a digital subscription model. Comparable to The Daily Star in editorial positioning (premium English journalism) but operates across multiple cities and a much larger advertising market.
Emerging players
- bdnews24.com: Bangladesh-focused digital-first news outlet publishing in both English and Bangla. Represents the digital-native competitive threat to The Daily Star's web and e-paper products, particularly for time-sensitive news and younger reader segments.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Daily Star social profiles
Digital presenceThe Daily Star financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Daily Star leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
The Daily Star funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Daily Star M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Daily Star
What does The Daily Star do?
The Daily Star publishes Bangladesh's largest English-language national daily newspaper, distributed in print and across digital channels. The newspaper provides comprehensive coverage of Bangladeshi and international news, politics, governance, business, sports, culture, lifestyle, youth content, and opinion, and operates a digital E-Paper platform that replicates the print edition for online and mobile readers. It also maintains a Bengali-language digital edition for Bangla-speaking readers.
Is The Daily Star a public or private company?
The Daily Star is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was The Daily Star founded?
The Daily Star was founded in 1991. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is The Daily Star based?
The Daily Star is headquartered in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in the Asia region.
How does The Daily Star make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Advertising is the primary driver. The others are print and Digital Subscriptions.
Who are The Daily Star's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Prothom Alo, Dhaka Tribune, The Business Standard, Daily Sun, New Age (Bangladesh), Dawn and The Daily Observer (Bangladesh). Broad incumbents are The Hindu and Hindustan Times. bdnews24.com is listed as an emerging player.
Does The Daily Star have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Daily Star.
What industry is The Daily Star in?
The Daily Star's product category is Newspaper Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJADAA, National & General-Interest Newspapers (Print & Digital). Its NAICS code is 513110 and its SIC code is 2711.