SPH Media Trust (SMT), commonly known as SPH Media, is a media organisation with businesses in print, digital, radio, and

outdoor media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit information e ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. Legally a

company limited by guarantee In British, Australian, Bermudian, Hong Kong and Irish company law (and previously New Zealand), a company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of corporation used primarily (but not exclusively) for non-profit organisations that require legal pe ...

, it was incorporated on 19 July 2021, and begin establishment operation on 1 December 2021 after Singapore Press Holdings Limited completed the transfer of its media business. It forms part of a

duopoly A duopoly (from Greek δύο, ''duo'' "two" and πωλεῖν, ''polein'' "to sell") is a type of oligopoly where two firms have dominant or exclusive control over a market. It is the most commonly studied form of oligopoly due to its simplicit ...

on the mass media of Singapore, with the other player being

Mediacorp Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...

. SPH Media Trust has over 2,500 employees, including a team of approximately 1,000 journalists, including

correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

s operating around the world.

History

Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SPHL) was formed on 4 August 1984 through a merger of three organisations, The Straits Times Press Group, Singapore News and Publications Limited and Times Publishing Berhad. SPHL readership has stagnated since the early-2000s, as Singaporeans increasingly turned to online media for their news consumption. On 6 May 2021, SPHL in response to shareholder pressures, had proposed that it would restructure itself and transfer its media business into a

(CLG), which will be privately managed. The new CLG will be initially managed by the holders of SPHL's current management shareholders:

OCBC Bank Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, Limited (), often known as OCBC Bank (), is a Singaporean multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in OCBC Centre, Singapore. OCBC Bank was born out of the Great Depression thr ...

, Great Eastern, United Overseas Bank,

DBS Bank DBS Bank Limited, often known as DBS, is a Singaporean multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered at the Marina Bay Financial Centre in the Marina Bay district of Singapore. The bank was previously known as The Dev ...

Singtel Singapore Telecommunications Limited, commonly known as Singtel, is a Singaporean telecommunications conglomerate and one of the four major telcos operating in the country. The company is the largest mobile network operator in Singapore with ...

, NTUC Income,

Temasek Temasek (also spelt Temasik) is an early recorded name of a settlement on the site of modern Singapore. The name appears in early Malay and Javanese literature, and it is also recorded in Yuan and Ming Chinese documents as ''Danmaxi'' ( or ...

, the

National University of Singapore The National University of Singapore (NUS) is a national public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1905 as the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States Government Medical School, NUS is the oldest autonomous university in th ...

and the

Nanyang Technological University The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a national research university in Singapore. It is the second oldest autonomous university in the country and is considered as one of the most prestigious universities in the world by various in ...

, while still having to issue new management shares of the media business under the CLG as required by Newspaper and Printing Presses Act. The government would also lift the shareholder limits on the currently listed SPH entity. This new CLG was named SPH Media Trust. On 10 September 2021, an

extraordinary general meeting An extraordinary general meeting, commonly abbreviated as EGM, is a meeting of members of an organisation, shareholders of a company, or employees of an official body that occurs at an irregular time.' The term is usually used where the group wou ...

was convened over the restructuring proposal to transfer all media business-related assets and staff to SMT. Approximately 97.55% of the 300 shareholders voted in favour of the proposal. The transfer was completed on 1 December 2021. The assets transferred included its headquarters, News Center, and its press, Print Center, as well as all intellectual property and information technology assets. Along with the assets transfer, 2,500 staff were transferred to SMT as well. SPHL had also injected SMT with cash and of SPHL stocks and SPH REIT units. As part of its restructuring, it transited ''

The New Paper ''The New Paper'' is a Singaporean newspaper in tabloid form. It was originally published as a "noon paper", but since 2016 has been published daily as a freesheet in the morning from 7 a.m. onwards. History First launched on 26 July 1988, ...

'' into a fully digital publication and ceased to be a print publication on 11 December 2021. Additionally, it folded ''

Lianhe Wanbao Lianhe Wanbao (; literally Joint Evening News) was a Singapore Chinese afternoon newspaper published daily by SPH Media Trust from 16 March 1983 after the merger between ''Nanyang Siang Pau'' and '' Sin Chew Jit Poh''. ''Lianhe Wanbao'' fo ...

'' (联合晚报) into ''

Shin Min Daily News ''Shin Min Daily News'' () is a Singapore Chinese-language afternoon newspaper currently published by SPH Media Trust. First started on 18 March 1967, by Singapore businessman Liang Runzhi (梁潤之) and the renowned Hong Kong writer Louis Cha ...

'' (新明日报) on 24 December 2021, consolidating its resources to produce only one Chinese evening paper while taking into account of the limited number of local talents in the Chinese media and shrinking market. To aid with the restructuring of its operations, Singapore government announced on 16 February 2022 that it would provide SMT up to over the next five years, with the amount dependent on achieving certain targets such as reach and engagement of its products and to certain

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

groups and youth.

Ownership

As a private company, SPH Media Trust is managed privately by its shareholders. The initial shareholders were made up of the management shareholders of Singapore Press Holdings Limited, as SPHL was a newspaper company as defined under the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act (NPPA) of 1974. The management shares are regulated through NPPA and its issuance and transfers have to be approved by the

Ministry of Communications and Information The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI; ms, Kementerian Perhubungan dan Penerangan; zh, 通讯及新闻部; ta, தொடர்பு, தகவல் அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore respo ...

, and in "any resolution relating to the appointment or dismissal of a director or any member of the staff" the vote of one management share is equivalent to 200 ordinary shares. New management shares are to be issued to the individual media businesses under SMT.

Newspapers

In Singapore, SMT publishes 8 newspaper titles in four languages.

English

*'' The Business Times'' (Saturday edition: ''The Business Times Weekend'') *''

'' *''

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was establish ...

'' (Sunday edition: ''The Sunday Times'') *'' tabla!'' – free English language newspaper for the Indian community; 30,000 copies distributed each Friday at 7-Eleven outlets

Chinese

*''

Lianhe Zaobao ''Nanyang Sin-Chew Lianhe Zaobao'' (; literally "Nanyang Sin-Chew Joint Morning Paper"), commonly abbreviated as ''Lianhe Zaobao'' (; literally "Joint Morning Paper"), is the largest Singaporean Chinese-language newspaper with a daily circu ...

'' (联合早报) (Sunday edition: ''zbSunday'') *''

'' (新明日报)

Malay

*''

Berita Harian ''BH'' (renamed on 2 July 2012; formerly known as ''Berita Harian'') is a Malay-language daily newspaper published in Malaysia owned by the New Straits Times Press. It was first published on 1 July 1957 as the first mainstream newspaper in M ...

'' (Sunday edition: ''Berita Minggu'')

Tamil

*'' Tamil Murasu'' (தமிழ் முரசு)

Magazines

SMT publishes and produces 10 magazine titles in Singapore and the region, covering a range of interests from lifestyle to information technology. *''Female'' *''HWM'' *'' HardwareZone'' *''Harper's Bazaar Singapore'' *'' Her World'' *''Home & Decor'' *''ICON'' *'' Nüyou'' *''The Peak'' *''Singapore Women's Weekly''

Book publishing

SMT's subsidiary Straits Times Press produces books and periodicals in English and Chinese.

Digital

Beyond print, the digital editions of SMT newspapers enjoy over 360 million page views with 23 million unique visitors every month. Apart from

AsiaOne AsiaOne is Singapore's first pure play digital content platform, serving readers primarily in Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong. AsiaOne was first launched in 1995 by Singapore Press Holdings and is currently a joint venture between mm2 Asia ...

, SMT's online and new media initiatives include STOMP, online journalism web portal; STJobs and STProperty, online portal for jobs and property; and STClassifieds for general classified ads. In 2018, SPHL sold a 51% stake in AsiaOne to mm2 Asia.

Radio

SMT manages and operates five radio stations: 96.3 Hao FM and UFM100.3 in Mandarin, as well as MONEY FM 89.3, Kiss92 FM and ONE FM 91.3 in English. MONEY FM 89.3 targets educated English speakers aged 35 years and above who take an interest in everyday personal finance matters. ONE FM 91.3 is an English music station playing all the greatest hits from the 80s’ to now. Kiss92 FM targets modern, driven and savvy women aged between 30 and 50, providing informative content and adult contemporary music from the 90's to current. 96.3 Hao FM (96.3好FM) targets bilingual Singaporeans aged 45 years and above. UFM100.3 targets working professionals aged between 35 and 49 years.

Outdoor advertising

SMT has ventured into outdoor advertising through its digital out-of-home platform SPHMBO.

References

External links

*
SPH Media Solutions
{{SPH Media Trust 2021 establishments in Singapore Publishing companies established in 2021 Mass media companies established in 2021 Mass media companies of Singapore Newspaper companies of Singapore Singaporean brands