The media industry?saw a?challenging?2020, from working on a relentless COVID-19 news cycle, declining print revenue to?a shift?in?media consumption habits.?What are the?upcoming trends?and challenges that will?define?the media industry in 2021?? PR Newswire’s?Audience Development Team, which operates from 9?markets?across APAC,?charts out what lies ahead for the?media?industry in each?market.??

1. Australia???

The media in Australia will face two challenges in 2021 – the likely return of live events?and managing a new paradigm of workplace operations, according to Tony Thomas, deputy managing editor of?The Daily Telegraph.?Live events?should see increased advertising as organizations try to get the word?out that?they are back on and ready for business. The chances of?media partnerships?will grow with this?development.?

Some?closely watched?events include?the Olympic Games in Tokyo and how it transpires given the?developing?COVID-19?situation?around the world, and how the football season in Australia will unfold amid crowd control measures.?Within?media?companies, video conferencing will still be a norm as?they?continue to?apply social distancing as a constant and adapt to the change in processes from?external?partners as well.??

2. Hong Kong?

If the COVID-19 situation in Hong Kong does?not improve this year, it will?become?more challenging for?media outlets to survive?in a competitive space. In order to?sustain, some media outlets have branched out to alternative?sources of revenue like?starting?e-commerce businesses to sell products on their platforms. A couple of?media outlets in Hong Kong have?developed?such businesses?to supplement their publishing revenue.?One?notable?example?is the leading local newspaper, Ming Pao Daily’s?e-commerce?platform,?. The site sells a wide range of lifestyle products, which?are incorporated into relevant articles by the editorial team.??

With?reduced revenue and?mounting?commercial?concerns, frontline reporters are?worried that?there?aren’t?sufficient time and resources to conduct?in-depth reports?and interviews.?Instead of working on comprehensive reports, they?will?focus more on?hot and?trending topics that readers care about.??

READ: 2020 Hong Kong Media Landscape Highlights?

3. Malaysia?

One of the key agenda of the Malaysian media industry?in 2021?is?to?help businesses?promote?their digital transformation plans. This becomes?more crucial as?brands?set out to reinvent themselves to take on?the?post-crisis world.??

Through adopting and improving Industry 4.0 technologies such as fintech, blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI),?companies can?future proof?their businesses. This is part of??to be the “Heart of Digital ASEAN”. With?digital technologies?amalgamated?into all sectors of its economy,?Malaysia?hopes to become the regional digital hub for companies looking to tap into ASEAN’s digital future.??

With this development, the media will be keen to feature?stories from brands?that have?adapted?to digital tools and platforms as a catalyst to achieve?their business goals and venture?to?new opportunities.?

Another?hot topic on the?media’s agenda?this year?is the “mass customization” of businesses – how they?are?leveraging?data to attract their prospects and business partners.?Now,?more than ever, brands need to predict what consumers are thinking and planning to do so that they will be ready when consumers start looking out again once?“normalcy” resumes after the pandemic.??

READ: 2020 Malaysia Media Landscape Highlights?

4. Indonesia??

Riding on the momentum of change in the media industry in 2020, consumers and advertisers are moving more rapidly to digital channels.?Consumers?expect?greater value?and better customer experience?from?spending time?on the platform, while advertisers expect?more revenue to be?generated.?

With increasing competition?among media outlets,?access to user data is the key to success. The business model?has?given rise to?consumer-creators and hybrid monetization opportunities.?As a result, regulators are increasingly paying close attention to platforms that distribute media content.?

According to online show?, a digital media outlet targeted at millennials,?media leaders in Indonesia?admitted that the pandemic has?sparked the rapid growth of?innovation on digital platforms.?This will continue this year or after?the pandemic has subsided.?

Traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, radio and television?will have?to think of new models?of?business and production that are more tech and cost-savvy. Digital adoption is changing?information consumption?patterns rapidly and paid content?will be?an important?part of the media’s survival plans?going forward.?

READ: 2020 Indonesia Media Landscape Highlights?

5. Singapore

The digital media space?will continue to grow?this year.?Information consumption over digital platforms has?risen?due to the COVID-19 pandemic?as?most?consumers?have been working remotely last year.??

Even?major media players?need?to adapt. In November 2020, media giant Singapore Press Holdings?stated that it will?invest in the transformation of its media business. Last year,?the group recorded a decline in both print advertising and print subscription revenue.?The group’s print newspaper circulation dropped by 20% year-on-year, while?digital circulation has grown 55.6%.?

This has led to?media companies boosting their digital presence to increase engagement with audiences.?Last year, The Straits Times launched?its?Facebook Live series,??that features a roundup of the top news headlines for the day. Viewers can also leave questions and comments during the?live stream.?, an online news website that?is?targeted at?millennials launched its live webinar series on Instagram, as part of its rebranding campaign to mark its?20th?anniversary in 2020.?The? touches?on?societal issues?such as activism, cyber vigilantism, gender equality and mental health.?

READ:?2020 Singapore Media Landscape Highlights?

6. South Korea?

Media outlets in South Korea are experiencing a decline in newspaper circulation and are struggling to develop new revenue streams.?An emerging solution that will be much talked-about this year will be the introduction of?paid content services.??

This is, however,?not a new initiative.?Leading daily?Chosun?Ilbo?has?experimented?with?premium online services?that?offered exclusive?news?in 2013.?However, it was not successful?due to the lack?of quality content and the lack of perceived value from readers due to the influx of free news and information from other news platforms.??

This year, more media companies will continue to experiment with paid content?in order to find new revenue streams.?, the biggest search engine in South Korea, will launch its?paid content subscription service?later this year.?The?service?aggregates news from?major Korean newspapers?such as?Chosun?Ilbo?and?Korea Joongang Daily.?, the?most popular?mobile instant messaging app?in the country,?is planning to launch its?paid content subscription service?later this?year.?

The effects of the pandemic have?accelerated digital transformation?across traditional media and will continue to do so?this year. The?traditional newspaper industry?has been?changing?to a digital-first?workflow.?Most major print and broadcast news outlets now maintain digital versions.?This digital innovation will continue to reshape the media industry in South Korea in 2021.?

READ:?2020 South Korea Media Landscape Highlights?

7. Taiwan??

News outlets will continue to?push ahead in their digital transformation journey despite?challenges, such as declining viewership of traditional media, increasing competition from online sites and slimmer profit margins?from traditional advertising.??

This year, two media trends will emerge. Firstly, more media?companies?will?provide?online?live-streaming platforms?and podcasts?that?offer innovative narrative and interactive experiences, so content?becomes?more attractive to viewers.?Through sponsorships, product placement and online advertising, media companies can receive additional sources of revenue.?Key examples include news portal?’s?popular online streaming programmes such as cooking competition,?CooKing?and singing talent show, Jungle Voice.??

Secondly, more media outlets will?operate?on a news subscription model. The audience?can customize?content?that they are more interested in receiving. For example, Apple Daily?recently?started?its paid subscription service,?, which offers more in-depth news, exclusive interviews and feature stories. It also?has?documentaries and financial investment news to attract more viewers.??

However, adopting a subscription model comes with its challenges.?According to McKinsey and BCG, when companies adopt subscription models, the cost will skyrocket?during the first?six months?at least.?If operations are not on track, media outlets and shareholders will feel the pressure in?getting?revenue.?

READ MORE: 2020 Taiwan Media Landscape Highlights?

8. Thailand

The competition for media coverage?continues to be intense this year?as Thailand has to grapple with?both the?COVID-19 outbreak?and the political tension. Consumers are closely following news about these issues.??

As these?political movements are led by young people,?online channels?are their?preferred?source of news and information.?As a result,?media outlets have adjusted the way news?is presented. However,?their roles and credibility are often scrutinized?as audiences are paying attention to how news is reported in this area.??

Therefore, the challenge for the?Thai?media is to?build credibility in their news reporting.?Besides the main, traditional news outlets, online news agencies, websites and social media influencers will have to work?hard to be recognized as trustworthy news sources.?

READ MORE: 2020 Thailand Media Landscape Highlights?

For more insights on?the key media trends and developments in Thailand and how they have been impacted by?COVID-19, get the?Thailand?2021 Media Landscape Report

9.?Vietnam

Following?Vietnam’s??that was implemented last March, the?Ministry of Information and Communications?has?licensed 18 newspapers to?be?transformed?into in-depth magazines.?This shows that?traditional?local?media?outlets?have?shifted?their?focus?from?being?battling?with?social media to be the?first?to?report?to?gaining?the?audience’s?trust.??

Ho Quang Loi,?Vice?President?of?Vietnam?Journalists?Association,?said “For?quite?a?while, the?press?has?been?racing?to be the?first?to report,?but?in?this?digital?age,?being?the?first?is?not?the?most?important?for?the?press,?because?that?social?media?can?take up that role.?Instead, the?press?needs?to?focus on?in-depth?articles?and?analysis?to persuade readers with reliable information.”??

On the social media front, video-sharing app Tik Tok will continue to rise to become?a popular?short video platform for Gen Z and Gen Y.?The?Ministry?of Health took advantage of this fact and launchedTikTok?campaign during the lockdown?period last year.?The campaign?featured?snappy videos on?handwashing, mask-wearing and social-distancing measures.?

READ:?2020 Vietnam Media Landscape Highlights?

?Look out for our series of 2021 APAC Media Landscape blog articles in the coming months for an overview of media developments in key markets across the region.??

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