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Analysts flag circulation and earnings slump among Malaysian govt-linked media

Published Tue, Jan 17, 2017 · 09:50 PM

Kuala Lumpur

A SIGNIFICANT decline in readers and viewers of government-controlled newspapers and television and radio stations is worrying Putrajaya.

Notwithstanding the slump in ratings and hence, earnings, the government's concern is whether its messages are getting out to the target audience - especially since snap polls are anticipated this year.

For example, Media Prima Bhd, the media stable controlled by Umno (the United Malays National Organisation, Malaysia's biggest political party), has four TV and three radio stations and three dailies, with the dailies parked under its subsidiary, New Straits Times Press Bhd (NSTP).

In the third quarter to end September, Media Prima slipped into the red with a loss of RM109 million, mainly from the restructurin…

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