Are newspapers dying? The question has been widely debated and sounds dreadful to print journalists in Thailand right now.
Triluj: Confident in economic recovery
The industry faces slumping ad sales, the loss of a lot of classified advertising and precipitous drops in circulation. Revenue has plunged while competition from internet media has squeezed older print publishers. So are Thai newspapers at death's door?
Thai media experts say a clearer trend is likely to become visible over the next 3-5 years. They also expect big companies to survive if they branch out into more media and reach wider targets.
"I strongly believe that newspapers, especially those run by big organisations that have seen more than decades of establishment, like the Bangkok Post Plc, Matichon Plc, Thai Rath or Nation Multimedia Group Plc, will not come to face closure," said Triluj Navamarat, chairman of the Media Agency Association of Thailand (MAAT).
"Big newspaper companies are just facing a hard time. They are struggling to survive the digitisation of the world. But they are not likely to die soon."
According to Mr Triluj, amid digital and online domination today, those newspaper companies have been trying to diversify their businesses to more than one form of media, and this strategy will pave the way for long-term survival.
"We can see that many companies report the news through multi-platform channels and some companies such as Thai Rath or Nation Multimedia Group also have their own TV channels to help them keep up with diminishing ad spending in the newspaper business," Mr Triluj said.
Although the online media is becoming more and more popular among Thais and advertising is shifting towards many forms of media these days, Mr Triluj believes newspapers are still the most effective mode of advertising for Thais.
"In my opinion, newspaper ads are the most reachable for Thais as well as TV ads because the suburban people still need them in their daily lives, and not everyone is using the internet," Mr Triluj said.
He said that apart from distributing news through multi-platform channels to survive, newspaper companies should manage costs by hiring less staff or reducing the number of pages as it will help lessen operation costs directly.
Mana Treelayapewat, dean at the School of Communication Arts at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, said there are many factors affecting the print media industry.
First is the massive free online information that offers faster, more direct access to target groups, especially the younger generation who are attached to their smartphones for more than 4-5 hours a day on average.
Second, for the high operation costs and staff that the decreasing ad revenues can't cover, media agencies have shifted their ad budgets swiftly to online media.
The MAAT forecasts total ad revenue in all media outlets to fall 11% this year from 120.92 billion baht in 2016, as every sector has baulked at spending on all media channels due to the ongoing economic fluctuation and unpredictable national situation.
According to Mr Triluj, the overall media industry remains weak as indicated by advertising spending figures for all media outlets that contracted 5% to 60.31 billion baht in the first half of this year.
"The projected 11% fall in ad spending on all media outlets is largely because of the weak economy while many uncertain factors still persist until the end of this year," he said.
Among all media outlets, newspapers, radio and TV have faced a massive decline in the first half of this year, with the brisk prospects expected to continue for the entire year.
Ad spending in radio, newspapers, and magazines fell 18%, 19% and 36% to 2.48 billion, 5.81 billion and 1.07 billion respectively, while TV media including digital TV, cable TV and satellite TV fell 10% to 35.02 billion baht.
Ad spending on the internet, transit media, cinema and out-of-home media, surging by 24%, 27%, 25% and 16% to 5.89 billion, 3.09 billion, 3.4 billion and 3.04 billion baht respectively.
Mr Triluj said the figure illustrated that advertisers and media agencies are likely to use the form of media that influences consumers most, including in-store media and inevitable media outlets in daily life such as transit, out-of-home media, cinema and online media as they can reach people anywhere and anytime.
He said online advertising will continue to sharply rise because ad expenses are lower than for traditional media and it can target the right group.
"Online advertising is two-way communication advertising and it can also collect insights from consumers' behaviour for the next marketing strategy," he said.
In the MAAT's prediction for the full year, Mr Triluj said ad spending on digital TV will lead to an expected 11% decline in ad spending this year to 108.18.
"For this year, there is no sign of improvement from consumer products, non-alcoholic beverages, and retails, and October will have a significant impact in Q4 spending," he said.
In the latest report from the Stock Exchange of Thailand, five SET-listed media companies -- Nation Multimedia Group Plc, Amarin Printing and Publishing Plc, Matichon Plc, Bangkok Post Plc and Siam Sports Syndicate Plc -- were found to still feel the pinch from lower operating results.
Nation Multimedia Group Plc said total revenue fell 17.3% in the first six months of the year to 975.75 million baht from 1.18 billion baht, with a net loss amounting to 554.39 million baht, up from 416.13 million baht in the same period last year.
Amarin Printing and Publishing Plc posted a net loss of 170.81 million baht in the first half, down from 342.67 million baht that time last year, although it reported revenue totalling 940.19 million baht, up from 754.93 million baht in the same period last year.
Matichon Plc reported 450 million baht in six-month consolidated revenue, down from 454.26 million baht in the same period last year, with net profit of 7.1 million baht against a 61.43 million baht net loss in the first half of last year.
Siam Sports Syndicate Plc reported revenue for the same period of 468.34 million baht, down from 549.92 million baht, with a net loss of 129.67 million baht, down from 167.51 million baht in the same period last year.
The Bangkok Post Plc said sales and services income totalled 641.93 million baht for the first half of the year, down from 794.74 million baht at that time last year, with a net loss of 117.86 million baht, down from 146.97 million baht last year.
