报纸品牌效应仍有价
日期︰2017年12月08日
报纸品牌效应仍有价
一年容易过，还有不足一个月，就会迎来2018年。对报业经营来说，十二月份即要忙于迎接圣诞的消费旺季，同时是要为明年做好预算的日子。在这个回顾和展望前景的时间，可见报业在同业和不同媒体间旳竞争仍然激烈，犹幸在重重挑战下，仍然可以见到乌云酿上的银边。
媒体生态变化多端，已成全球新常态。在资讯泛滥下，无论纸媒、电子传媒抑或网媒，都一样承受各种经营上的压力。今年，有免费报纸，周刊宣布卖盘；与此同时，个别报业集团宣布全年或中期业绩，本业都有起色。
加价无明显影响销路
今年报业一件大事，是收费报章打破了多年价格维持不变做法，多家报馆先后调高售价。从数字显示，加价影响似乎比估计为轻。如果用再长一点的时间去看，读报人数经歴多年前的快速回落后，近年已有明显放缓的迹象，如果细看的话，个别报章的读者人数这两年已大致维持，未受网络明显冲击。根据IPSO的媒体调查，2015年年整体报纸读者人数为542万人;2016为540万人，今年截至第二季为535万人，基本上大维持。当中免费报纸读者人数因为之前有大型新办报纸退出市场，出现略为回落。收费报纸读者人数2015年为218万人;2016年跌至188万人，但今年上半年回升至192万人，反映报纸读者人数仍然可观之馀，收费报纸并无受去年尾、今年初陆续加价的影响。
收费报纸加价而对销路没有冲击，原因值得深入再作探讨。无论如何，这个现象对经营有两大好处，一是实际上因为加价带来的收益。虽然报纸一向以广告作为主要收益，但由于这不是一间厚利生意，发行收益的增加，对经营其实甚有帮助。再者，作为商品能够成功加价，反映了市场的承接力。每次调整价格，等同是提醒读者对消费决定作出检讨，收费报纸能够过关，说明媒体本身的生命力。业界在欣喜之馀，值得仔细研判当中成因，以求继续优化行业质素。
最近，多个报业或媒体集团的业绩报告，表现个别发展，好坏消息并存，反映市场并没有一靣倒的方向，特别是传统纸媒如何与网络配合发展。初步分析，在媒体市场日趋挤逼下，经营者基本上再不能如昔日好景时，沿用粗放式成长的方法经营。在与网络互相结合发展上，由于网媒广告价钱普遍偏低，加上社媒大量侵食内容成果下，包括报业的内容供应商，暂时仍无很清晰的成功商业模式。
广告效益相对仍理想
从各媒体集团的业绩看，比较成功的做法，是采取报网合一，相辅相承同步增加收益的做法；又或者是采取网络内容与纸媒内容清楚区分，各自经营的策略。由于网媒效益暂时仍然偏低，加上被社交平台和程式广告侵蚀收入，简单地把有价内容全部上载，至今仍难以回收庞大的内容制作成本，以图把纸媒完全变成网媒的做法，存在极大风险。
从报纸广告仍然有价，反映新闻媒体花费大量心血和编采资源打造的内容，仍然具有很大的品牌效应，令纸媒的影响力尚在，与新闻网媒暂时仍只能主要靠眼球与流量的营运模式有所不同。从收费报纸今年成功加价，到个别报业集团的收益回升，反映报纸的品牌效应带来的收益可观，实在不宜轻言放弃，反而应该著力研究如何好好保护以至再作发挥。
香港报业公会副主席 萧世和
Newspaper titles retain value
With less than a month to the new year, newspapers around town are all gearing up for the peak consumer season of December, and, at the same time, preparing plans and budgets for 2018. In reviewing the past year and projecting for the year ahead, it is clear that competition will remain very keen both amongst newspapers and with other media. In the face of a multitude of challenges, there is, however, a silver lining to the clouds that overhang the media market.
On a global basis, the media market remains in a state of flux and continues with its ever-changing evolvements. In this age of information overload, the media industry, inclusive of newspapers, electronic media and the internet, has been subject to a range of operational pressures. The current year has, for example, witnessed the sale of a free paper and a weekly magazine. On the other hand, annual or interim results of individual newspaper groups have shown improvements in their core business.
Newsstand price rise has had little impact on circulation
A major development during the year for the newspaper industry is the upward adjustment of the cover price, a move that had been ruled out for years. Statistics shows that the price rise has had a smaller impact than expected. Viewed over a longer period, the decline in newspaper readership has slowed down significantly in recent years after a sharp drop initially. A number of newspapers, for instance, have managed to hold their readership for the last two years in spite of the impact of the internet.
According to an IPSO media survey, the total newspaper readership in 2015 was 5.42 million, and 5.4 million for 2016. The number for the current year as at the end of the second quarter was 5.35 million, reflecting minimal movement. In view of the closure of a new free paper, there was a slight drop in the number of free newspaper readership. For paid newspapers, the readership of 2.18 million in 2015 declined to 1.88 million in 2016, before rising to 1.92 million in the first half of the current year. The figures show that there is still a very sizable number of newspaper readers, and the price rise has had little or no effect on circulation.
It would be worth the while of the newspaper industry to analyze the market dynamics of the minimal effect of price rise this time round. Irrespective of the market response, the industry has reaped two advantages from the move. First, although the main source of income for a newspaper is from advertising, the industry itself is basically not a hugely lucrative business, any additional income from its circulation, therefore, brings benefit. Second, the market’s acceptance of a price rise means the reader has made an assessment of value for money. In passing the test, the media industry proves its vitality, but it mustn’t rest on its laurels. In fact, it must continue to strive for excellence and improvement.
The latest results announced by various newspaper and media groups have shown a mixed performance. In other words, there is not a one-sided development trend in the market. Initial analysis suggests that, in an increasingly crowded media market, businesses can no longer follow the laissez faire policy of the good old times. Currently in the online market, there is increasing network connectivity, but internet advertising rates are low, while the social media platform are sharing a big portion of revenue. Consequently, online content providers, no matter they are newspaper related or not, is still probing for a working business mode of the future.
Press advertising is still cost-effective
Judging by the performance of various media groups, a promising way out of the dilemma is to combine advertising in both newspaper and the internet as they complement each other. An alternative is to target readers separately on either platform. To date, the cost-effectiveness of the internet is still comparatively low, and it is being buffeted by social media which simply upload expensive contents, the cost of which is currently irrecoverable. Therefore, it would be risky to undertake a simple wholesale transformation from a newspaper format into an digital format.
Newspaper advertisements still command a solid price, which shows that the market acknowledges the huge amount of resources devoted to reporting and editing. Newspapers continue to have an influence on society and operate in a distinctive mode that differs from the internet which merely focuses on hit rate. The successful experience with the recent price hike in paid newspapers, and the resurgence in income for a number of newspaper groups reflect that the print media can still be a money-spinner. Instead of loosening the grip, the industry would do well to nurture its further development.
Siu Sai-wo
Vice Chairman, the Newspaper Society of Hong Kong