2020 Hong Kong Media Landscape Highlights

In 2020, the Hong Kong media landscape was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, sparking a re-organization of the industry’s operations and resources. We track the key developments and trends in the territory’s media sector, major changes in editorial operations and chart out the industry’s outlook for 2021.

Overview of Hong Kong’s Media Landscape in 2020

With business disruption sparked by the pandemic, the advertising revenue of media companies saw a sharp decline. As a result, media companies had to cut costs through layoffs. To supplement their revenue, media outlets such as Ming Pao Daily and the Hong Kong Economic Times co-organized webinars and workshops with seasoned investors and Key Opinion Leaders in the stock and investment fields. These events gave readers with in-depth information on securing alternative sources of income.

Popular topics in the finance media include announcements by global and blue-chip companies, business movements and closures, businesses pivoting to online platforms, layoffs and best business practices.

With mounting societal concerns, immigration has become a much-talked-about topic. More readers are keen on reading topics such as foreign property ownership and business information in investment and real estate articles.

With more people turning to online news real-time, publishers are integrating their online news operations into their print operations. Despite the growing prominence of online news, some publishers still see higher advertising revenue generated by newspapers and are willing to invest more resources to sustain their print products.

The Push Towards Push Notifications News 

These days, mainstream current affairs reporters need to keep up with information overload in a digital age and meet audiences’ insatiable appetite for “fast-food information”.

Newspapers such as Oriental Daily, Apple Daily, HK01, and major televisions such as TVB and Now TV have allocated additional resources to develop social media platforms and mobile apps. Audiences now want quick and succinct information through push notifications from mobile apps. The news is summed up in short sentences for readers to know the key points at one glance. These push notifications attract more readers to click and view the news.

With the focus on breaking news, more reporters are assigned to monitor online news in the office and promptly produce reaction stories on it, instead of attending press conferences and events. Previously, 70% of the newsroom’s manpower is allocated for conducting interviews and attending networking sessions, leaving the senior reporters in the office to helm operations. Nowadays, 70% of reporters stay in the office to monitor websites and social media for news, such as government policy announcements or track the Facebook accounts of public figures. Reporters will look out for pandemic-related news, such as consumer news on the disruption of travel bubbles.

With more intense competition among newspapers and television stations and rising operation costs, more media companies will develop and optimize their online platforms.

READ MORE: Journalists Share How COVID-19 is Affecting Media Coverage in Hong Kong

Key developments in Hong Kong’s Media Industry in 2020 

• The New York Times announced last July that it will move its digital team of journalists – roughly one-third of its Hong Kong staff – to Seoul in 2021. Correspondents, staff members of its print production, advertising, and marketing arms will remain in Hong Kong.
• Hong Kong’s biggest pay-TV operator i-Cable laid off or reassigned some 100 staff in a bid to survive the economic downturn sparked by the pandemic. The job losses were mainly from the editorial department.
• Apple Daily launched a new program, Apple Daily News Report last October. The show, which is at 9.30pm, covers a wide range of local and international news.
• Cosmopolitan Hong Kong transitioned into a digital media brand in July. It continues to cover a wide range of women’s topics, including fashion, beauty, celebrity, relationships and more.
• Tatler Hong Kong launches a new platform, Front & Female which provides information and articles about female empowerment.
• Local free culture and lifestyle magazine MetroPop returned as a weekly publication in mid-October.
• TVB launches a weekly program Money Matters in September. The programme, which covers a wide range of business and financial news, is  broadcast TVB Pearl on Mondays.

New key media outlets in 2020

• Our China Story aims to promote Chinese culture and promote Hong Kong people’s knowledge and understanding of modern China’s development. Launched in 2020, the is part of the Our Hong Kong Foundation.
• A Chinese-language periodical Art and Piece is finally launched. It publishes every month and covers art, design, crafts, fashion, and culture.
• Infinity Media Group launches a quarterly luxury lifestyle magazine, ECHELON. It covers wellness, style, sustainability, investment, etc.
• A new online media, Daily Special launches in June 2020. It covers lifestyle news, including local food and beverage and leisure activities.
• Kactus Magazine, the quarterly magazine, aims to promote a versatile lifestyle. It covers ats and culture, lifestyle topics.

2021 Media Outlook

If the COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong does not improve this year, it will become more challenging for media outlets to survive in a competitive space. In order to sustain, some media outlets have branched out to alternative sources of revenue like starting e-commerce businesses to sell products on their platforms. A couple of media outlets in Hong Kong have developed such businesses to supplement their publishing revenue. One notable example is the leading local newspaper, Ming Pao Daily’s e-commerce platform, Power Up. The site sells a wide range of lifestyle products, which are incorporated into relevant articles by the editorial team.

With reduced revenue and mounting commercial concerns, frontline reporters are worried that there aren’t sufficient time and resources to conduct in-depth reports and interviews. Instead of working on comprehensive reports, they will focus more on hot and trending topics that readers care about. 

READ MORE: COVID-19 Comms: Media Angles in the Post-Pandemic World In Hong Kong 

This is the first instalment of the PR Newswire’s 2020 Asia-Pacific Media Landscape series. Our Audience Development team, which is based in 9 markets in APAC, gives an overview of media developments across the region.

For more information on receiving media insights, get in touch with us here.

This blog post is contributed by Kate Wong, Audience Development Manager – Hong Kong, Macau & Taiwan at PR Newswire.