Kenny Lim
Oct 2, 2008

SPH, Thai papers hike cover prices

SOUTHEAST ASIA - Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and several Thai print media titles have increased their cover prices in response to rising newsprint costs.

SPH, Thai papers hike cover prices
Prices of The Straits Times (ST) and The Sunday Times have increased by 10 cents, from 70 cents and 80 cents previously, and a bumper Saturday edition now costs 20 cents more. Meanwhile, the Business Times, Chinese-language dailies Lianhe Zaobao, Lianhe Wanbao and Shin Min Daily, and Malay daily Berita Harian, now cost five to 10 cents more.

SPH’s last price adjustment was in 2004. SPH chief executive officer Alan Chan said: “This is only the third price revision in 23 years. We have tried to contain costs, but expenses have gone up steeply, in particular the US dollar price of newsprint has almost doubled since 2004”.

A spokesperson at SPH maintained that the advertising ratecards of the affected newspapers will remain unchanged.

In Thailand, the Bangkok Post and magazines including OK! and Seventeen have raised cover prices by as much as 10 per cent.

According to Sunee Paripunna, managing director of MEC Thailand, although these increases are unlikely to hurt circulation, adspend and readership will fall as advertisers and consumers shift their budgets and attention towards “emerging and cheaper media online and in mobile”.

The latest figures in the Kingdom revealed a four per cent drop in adspend for magazines. Newspapers have showed no growth.

Related Articles

Just Published

1 hour ago

Agency Report Cards 2024: We grade 25 APAC networks

The grades are in for Campaign Asia's 22nd annual evaluation of APAC agency networks. Subscribe to read our detailed analyses.

2 hours ago

Agency Report Card 2024: Initiative

After losing marquee clients Amazon and Lego, Initiative faces an uphill battle to rebuild its reputation, leaning on new tools, a "challenger" mindset, and a focus on e-commerce to stay competitive in a rapidly shifting industry.

3 hours ago

Global CEO of WPP Media’s Nexus departs

Bidon has been global chief executive at Nexus since April 2022.

3 hours ago

Mark Read: 'People are happier when they’re in the ...

WPP’s chief executive spoke at SWSW and touched on hybrid working, the future of the workforce with AI and whether brands will return to X.