LEADER: S'pore must stay on path to reform

Competition through deregulation was accomplished by allowing Singapore Press Holdings, a virtual monopoly in the local newspaper arena, to enter the world of television broadcasting, and at the same time permitting MediaCorp, which held a near monopoly in the TV market, to compete in print.

The idea was the beginnings of monopolistic competition, with the ultimate aim of gradually opening Singapore's tightly-controlled media industries to a degree of foreign participation.

However, the effects of deregulation don't appear to have had the impact that was originally envisioned. The players, which were dominant, remain virtually unchallenged and these same players, which have entered into the other's market, are struggling. This is underlined by the fact that 10-month-old TV Works is rebranding as Channel i just months after merging its operations with that of its more successful Mandarin broadcast, Channel U. In addition, MediaCorp's Today newspaper has not proven to be the threat to SPH as was initially anticipated.

However, the deregulation has been successful in terms of SPH and MediaCorp raising the quality of their media offering as their respective new products, Channel i and Today, continue to strive to produce more compelling content for people looking for alternatives.

But the question that has to be asked is how SPH and MediaCorp, which are more used to behaving as monopolists, will act in the long run, if only two major operators are allowed in the print and television media.

Let's hope that they don't think about colluding with each other to set up a cosy duopoly. There are no signs of this occurring but if they feel like fish out of water in the markets they have only just entered, then the chances of a duopoly occurring are high.