FOCUS: SINGAPORE/MALAYSIA - Telecom war spurs S'pore spend surge

<p>Fierce competition among telecommunications companies and fast food </p><p>restaurants fueled a 29 per cent rise in adspend in Singapore in the </p><p>first six months of 2000, compared with the same period a year </p><p>earlier. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>According to ACNielsen Media International, the spend hit Sdollars 718 </p><p>million (about USdollars 409 million) from Sdollars 557 million (about </p><p>USdollars 317 million) previously. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>McDonald's, Starhub IDD 008, Singapore Telecommunications, Singtel </p><p>Mobile, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Singapore Telecom IDD and M1 (Mobileone) </p><p>were the top-spending brands in the period under review. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Telecommunications were by far the biggest spender at Sdollars 77.7 </p><p>million (about USdollars 44 million). The entertainment and retail </p><p>categories held second and third spots respectively. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Analysts expected telecoms to continue spending heavily in order to </p><p>ensure a fair share of voice in the marketplace. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Top Daily Newspapers (Based on ages 15+) </p><p> Readership Share </p><p> ('000) </p><p>Straits Times 1,344 45% </p><p>Lianhe Zaobo 679 23% </p><p>Lianhe Wanbao 521 17% </p><p>The New Paper 478 16% </p><p>Shin Min Daily 369 12% </p><p>Berita Harian 246 8% </p><p>Business Times 106 4% </p><p>Tamil Murasu 33 1% </p><p>Top 10 TV Programmes (January-June 2000 base on all channels) </p><p>Programme Station Reach </p><p> (%) </p><p>1 Lunar New Year Variety SP CH 8 38.7% </p><p>2 Road Safety Charity NIG CH 8 33.1% </p><p>3 NKF Show 2000-Foreign CH 8 35.5% </p><p>4 Holiday Movie 1 (Who Am I) CH 8 36.7% </p><p>5 Sunday Prime Movies (Storm Riders) CH 8 32.6% </p><p>6 The Legendary Swordsman CH 8 62.4% </p><p>7 Sunday Prime Movie (EU Strike Force) CH 8 28.6% </p><p>8 Sunday Prime Movie (The Magic Touch) CH 8 29.1% </p><p>9 Hero of The Times CH 8 57.4% </p><p>10 Old Time Buddy CH 8 62.5% </p><p>Top 10 Weekly Magazines (Based on ages 15+) </p><p> Type Readership Share </p><p> ('000) </p><p>I-weekly (C) Weekly 286 10% </p><p>Adpost Weekly 213 7% </p><p>8 days Weekly 162 5% </p><p>Time Weekly 98 3% </p><p>Newsweek Weekly 88 3% </p><p>Weekend East Weekly 62 2% </p><p>Asiaweek Weekly 56 2% </p><p>Friday Weekly (C) Weekly 52 2% </p><p>Yazhou Zhoukan (C) Weekly 26 1% </p><p>Economist Weekly 32 1% </p><p><BR><BR> </p>