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BEIJING, April 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- PR Newswire has issued the first Asian Media Landscape Series white paper today, providing information on Asia's local media landscape for PR and corporate communications professionals across the region. Following the release of the American Media Landscape in 2013, the first Asian Media Landscape Series white paper aims to be a guide for navigating through print, broadcast, online, social media, and search engines in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. This Asian Media Landscape Series white paper is free for download.
For companies looking to expand into Asia, navigating the local media landscapes can be daunting. The markets of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia are some of the most competitive in the world, and each country/region has its own media environment based on their separate cultures and policies, a key point that organizations should note when communicating in those economies.
"Asia has always been a key market for global companies and there is an increasing interest in emerging Asian markets, particularly Southeast Asia," said Helen Zhang, Senior Manager of Audience Development at PR Newswire Asia. "However, countries in Asia have different market conditions, which influences the local media environment and consumption habits. Whether you have already entered this region or are planning to, a better understanding of your target markets will help you shape your local communication strategy."
Hong Kong: a strong and free media landscape
Hong Kong attracts many media players due to its "freedom of information and wide-ranging investment opportunities," and claims to have one of the freest media environments with little censorship. Home to many of Asia's largest circulation Chinese- and English-language newspapers, the city is also the Asia-Pacific regional center for many renowned international magazines. Hong Kong has 16 Chinese-language newspapers, 3 local English-language newspapers, 2 free TV stations, 3 major radio stations, and many multiple language magazines. Facebook is the most active social network in Hong Kong, with Sina Weibo gradually becoming one of the city's most important social networks. Yahoo! Hong Kong is the city's most visited website.
Taiwan: the media operates in a free market environment
Taiwan is home to 360 private newspapers and radio stations. The rapid development of the Internet has had a detrimental effect on the advertising revenues of Taiwan's newspapers. Both Liberty Times and United Daily News, the two largest newspapers on the island, have online editions, with page views for United Daily News reaching 130 million. The most popular news portals in Taiwan are Yahoo! Taiwan and Yam.com. Taiwan has 280 satellite television channels and seven 24/7 news TV channels, as well as the highest concentration of satellite news gathering vans in the world. The island's most popular websites are Yahoo! Taiwan, Facebook, YouTube, and Pixnet.
Singapore: the media hub of Southeast Asia
The majority of this island nation's prominent newspaper and magazine titles are owned by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). The Straits Times is the most read newspaper in Singapore, with the print version read by 31 percent of the adult population. The Business Times is Singapore's only financial daily. Lianhe Zaobao is Singapore's largest Chinese-language publication and is one of the most influential Chinese media titles in the region. Consumption of content via print is decreasing as audiences switch to digital. Google is the dominant search engine, handling 84 percent of all search enquiries, significantly higher than the 6 percent from Yahoo!. Facebook and LinkedIn are the most popular social networks.
Malaysia: online news sites are among the most frequently-visited Malaysian sites
Many media outlets are directly owned either by the Malaysian government or by subsidiaries of the Barisan Nasional coalition government. Malaysia's largest media group, Media Prima Berhad, owns the country's leading newspapers, including The New Straits Times. The Star is one of the most popular English-language newspapers, while Sin Chew Jit Poh is the country's most popular Chinese paper. Malaysiakini and The Malaysian Insider are two of Malaysia's most visited news portals. Leading media outlets are launching mobile apps to address the changes in the media industry.
This year, PR Newswire also plans to issue Asian Media Landscape Series white papers for Japan, India, and Thailand to meet demands for those markets. In addition, PR Newswire will soon host several "media coffee" sessions in Hong Kong, Hangzhou, and Shenzhen, where discussions and workshops will be held to share insights and techniques on media communication.
