FOCUS: PRINT - Niche appeal in Hong Kong rises

<p>The readership of most of the top-selling newspaper and magazine </p><p>titles in Hong Kong are on the decline because of a surge in niche </p><p>publications entering the market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>According to ACNielsen, Oriental Daily News (ODN) saw its readership </p><p>slip from 2.5 million in the July 1998/June 1999 period to 2.2 million </p><p>in 1999/2000. The figure for Apple Daily also edged lower from 1.7 </p><p>million to 1.6 million. On the magazine side, Next's readership fell </p><p>from 667,000 to 568,000. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In fact, decreases were reported for 15 of the top 22 newspapers and </p><p>magazines surveyed. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Media specialists said that the declines were mostly due to new niche </p><p>publications flooding into the market, including Weekend Weekly, a </p><p>leisure travel title; New Monday, which covers leisure and lifestyle </p><p>issues; plus a whole host of new entertainment magazines. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Zenith Hong Kong buying director Henny To said most of the new titles </p><p>were target-oriented. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The fact that people find them attractive represented a psychographic </p><p>shift in readership habits," he told MEDIA. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>OMD Greater China managing director Maggie Choi said she wasn't </p><p>surprised to see the declines, especially among the big magazines. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Next and other similar titles are finding it more difficult to find new </p><p>ways of exciting readers who are constantly looking for something new. </p><p>They, therefore, find these new niche titles attractive because they </p><p>cater to the specific needs of individual readers," Ms Choi said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Newspapers like ODN and Apple were primarily affected by the launch of </p><p>The Sun, an ODN sister publication, in March 1999. Last year, it had a </p><p>readership of almost 800,000 making it the third best-selling daily in </p><p>Hong Kong. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"That readership would obviously erode the readership base of both ODN </p><p>and Apple," Mr To said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Weekly Magazines (read in past week) </p><p> 2000 1999 1999 </p><p> Mid-year Report Mid-year Report Mid-year Report </p><p> (Jul 1999- (Jan-Dec 1999) (Jul 1998- </p><p> June 2000) June 1999) </p><p> ('000) % ('000) % ('000) % </p><p>Next Magazine 568 9 610 10 667 11 </p><p>Sudden Weekly 499 8 569 9 621 10 </p><p>Easy Finder 368 6 406 7 459 8 </p><p>East Week 329 5 371 6 482 8 </p><p>TVB Weekly 266 4 288 5 326 5 </p><p>East Touch 254 4 282 5 316 5 </p><p>Yes 165 3 197 3 250 4 </p><p>Eat & Travel </p><p>Weekly 151 2 130 2 115 2 </p><p>Ming Pao Weekly 129 2 144 2 176 3 </p><p>Cable Guide </p><p>Weekly2 119 2 - - - - </p><p>Oriental Sunday 110 2 151 2 193 3 </p><p>PC Market 99 2 119 2 100 2 </p><p>Base:All aged 9+ 6,176,000 6,105,000 6,011,000 </p><p>2 Cable Guide Weekly was originally named Cable Guide which was a </p><p>monthly magazine. </p><p>It has changed its name to Cable Guide Weekly and was monitored from May </p><p>1999 onwards. </p><p>Newspapers (read yesterday) </p><p> 2000 1999 1999 </p><p> Mid-year Report Mid-year Report Mid-year Report </p><p> (Jul 1999- (Jan-Dec 1999) (Jul 1998- </p><p> June 2000) June 1999) </p><p> ('000) % ('000) % ('000) % </p><p>Oriental Daily News 2,236 36 2,412 40 2,551 42 </p><p>Apple Daily 1,615 26 1,642 27 1,780 30 </p><p>The Sun1 777 13 - - - - </p><p>Ming Pao 326 5 288 5 285 5 </p><p>South China </p><p>Morning Post 308 5 303 5 206 3 </p><p>Sing Pao 216 3 236 4 241 4 </p><p>Sing Tao Daily 145 2 133 2 118 2 </p><p>Hong Kong Daily </p><p>News 122 2 157 3 158 3 </p><p>Hong Kong Economic </p><p>Times 120 2 107 2 101 2 </p><p>Tin Tin Daily News 100 2 127 2 157 3 </p><p>Base:All aged 9+ 6,176,000 6,105,000 6,011,000 </p><p>1 The Sun was monitored from April 1999 onwards. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>