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Week ending June 8, 2013

BBC audio bulletins launch on mobile phones in Burma - June 3, 2013
from Lala Najafova/BBC WS

BBC World Service has become the first international media organisation in Burma (Myanmar) to deliver news on the mobile platform. Thanks to a ground-breaking agreement between BBC World Service and Burma’s leading mobile aggregator, Blue Ocean Operating Management, the country’s mobile-phone users can now receive two BBC Burmese audio news bulletins every day. The BBC is also the first provider of audio bulletins on mobile phones in Burma.

The BBC Burmese audio bulletins will be updated at 8am and 6.30pm local time every day via automatic feed. In addition, there will be special bulletins for breaking news. To listen on demand, subscribers can call 01-2399600.

There are around 4 million mobile subscribers in Burma, and the number is set to grow with the further liberalisation of the mobile market. BBC World Service Head of Business Development Asia Pacific, Indu Shekhar Sinha, says: “As Burma’s media scene goes through rapid change, we are thrilled to be spearheading the delivery of international audio news bulletins to Burmese mobile-phone users. We have also agreed with Blue Ocean Operating Management that the introduction of audio bulletins will be followed by the launch of a BBC Burmese news SMS, providing users with short text news updates.”

BBC World Service is a mass broadcaster in Burma. BBC Burmese has a weekly audience of 8.4 million listeners in Burma, reaching 22.9% of the country’s population. Independent surveys also show that BBC Burmese has established itself as a trusted international broadcaster in Burma.

Tin Htar Swe, Editor of BBC Burmese and BBC World Service South Asia Hub, adds: “The BBC continues to keep its audiences in Burma informed about regional and international events, via radio, online on bbcburmese.com, and increasingly via Facebook. This exciting development means these audiences will have access to our impartial and independent news content on the go. With the growing number of mobile-phone users in Burma, this is a great way for us to keep connected with our audiences and further expand our outreach in the country.”

Managing Director of Blue Ocean, Htun Htun Naing, comments on the collaboration between the BBC and Blue Ocean: "I'm very excited to launch this mobile service which is a first in Myanmar. We are always eager to develop and introduce new services to Myanmar people. With the BBC’s unbiased, independent news content and its existing listener base on the one hand, and our cutting-edge technology on the other, I believe this can soon become a very successful service."

The BBC World Service radio output in English is available on the radio service of the digital receiver of Forever Group in Burma. Three BBC TV channels - BBC World News, BBC Entertainment and CBeebies - are available on Forever Group’s as well as SkyNet’s pay TV platform in Burma.

WAN-IFRA - World Press Trends: Increasing Audience Engagement is Future for News Media - June 3, 2013
from Larry Kilman/WAN-IFRA

Print newspaper circulations continued to rise in Asia and decline in mature markets in the West, while digital advances have increased the audience for newspaper content as never before, the annual World Press Trends survey of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) showed.

But the growth on digital platforms is not being followed by consequent growth in advertising revenues. An analysis of the World Press Trends data shows that news sites enjoy high readership, but the level of reader engagement is low.

“The news industry’s future is about how citizens engage and participate in their society,” said Vincent Peyrègne, CEO of WAN-IFRA, presenting the annual survey to a gathering of more than 1,500 publishers, chief editors and other delegates at the combined World Newspaper Congress, World Editors Forum and World Advertising Forum in Bangkok, Thailand, on Monday.

“Even if paid circulation declines, newspapers reach a vast number of readers – print, online and mobile – and the latest trends show that advertising engagement in print keeps performing well and improves in many countries,” he said.

“Newspaper professionals understand, more than ever, the benefits offered by the digital world to improve the quality of their conversation with communities, identify new territories where they can expand their role, help reduce the complexity of the world, and increase the trust of their audience.”

Mr Peyrègne addressed the basic challenge to the news business: “The fragmentation of the market is a threat for our business model, but an opportunity to come back to our core mission and values: empowering free citizens, by providing them with the news and information necessary to make informed decisions in society,” he said. “Our role at WAN-IFRA is to facilitate the rethinking process of our value chain. The latest figures from World Press Trends show that the battle is ours to be won.”

The World Press Trends survey includes accurate data from more than 70 countries, accounting for more than 90 per cent of the global industry’s value. The data is compiled through an enormous undertaking by dozens of national newspaper and news media associations and generous support from global data suppliers: Zenith Optimedia, IPSOS, ComScore and the ITU.

The data showed:

- More than half the world’s adult population read a daily newspaper: 2.5 billion in print, more than 600 million in digital form.

- The newspaper industry generates more than US$200 billion of revenue annually.

- Both circulation and advertising performance vary widely by region.

- Newspaper circulation declined only -0.9 per cent globally in 2012 from a year earlier, as rising circulations in Asia offset circulation losses elsewhere. Circulation declined -2.2 per cent globally between 2008 and 2012, with the steepest declines in Europe.

Circulation declined over one year by -6.6 per cent in North America, -5.3 per cent in western Europe, -8.2 per cent in eastern Europe, and -1.4 per cent in the Middle East and North Africa. It increased +1.2 per cent in Asia, +3.5 per cent in Australia and New Zealand, and +0.1 per cent in Latin America.

Circulation declined over five years by -13 per cent in North America, -0.8 per cent in Latin America, -24.8 per cent in western Europe, and -27.4 per cent in eastern Europe. Circulation increased over five years in Asia (+9.8 per cent), the Middle East and North Africa (+10.5 per cent) and Australia and New Zealand (+1.0 per cent).

- Newspaper advertising revenues declined -2 percent globally in 2012 from a year earlier, and -22 percent since 2008. The five-year decline was driven primarily by newspaper advertising declines in the United States, the world’s largest advertising market. Print advertising fell -42 per cent in the United States over five years, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the global loss in newspaper advertising.

The decline in US newspaper advertising revenues reflects the US publishers’ traditionally high dependence on classified advertising. An estimated 80 per cent of classified is now digital. Though much of it is among ‘pure players’ that are owned by publishers, that revenue is not reflected in industry statistics.

Advertising revenues declined over one year by -7.6 per cent in North America, -3.4 per cent in western Europe, -5.6 per cent in eastern Europe, and -8.3 per cent in Australia and New Zealand. It rose +9.1 per cent in Latin America, +3.6 per cent in Asia, and +2.3 per cent in the Middle East and North Africa.

Advertising revenues declined over five years by -42.1 per cent in North America, -23.3 per cent in western Europe, -30.2 per cent in eastern Europe, -22.7 per cent in the Middle East and North Africa, and -24.9 per cent in Australia and New Zealand. It increased +37.6 per cent in Latin America and +6.2 per cent in Asia.

The survey also found:

- The biggest challenge for publishers continues to be how to increase the engagement of audiences on digital platforms. While more than half of the digital population visit newspaper websites, newspapers are a small part of total internet consumption, representing only 7 per cent of visits, only 1.3 per cent of time spent, and only 0.9 per cent of total pages visited.

- Paid content is a growing revenue stream. According to the Alliance of Audited Media, nearly half of US publishers now adopt some form of paid content model. Forty per cent are using a metered model, one-third charge for premium content, 17 per cent require payment for any access, and 10 per cent use some other model.

- Mobile and tablets are rapidly becoming a medium of choice for many news consumers, accounting for 20 per cent of page views in markets where data is available. Research in the United States, Germany and France suggest that news engagement via tablet, as measured by time spent with news content, is equal to that of the printed newspaper.

- Newspapers are actively developing revenues from non-traditional sources. In the United States, 27 per cent of newspaper company revenues now come from non-traditional sources: 11 per cent from digital, 8 per cent from new revenue from other sources (service to clients in addition to advertising), and 8 per cent from non-publishing revenue (e-commerce).

- There is a distinct difference in the performance of single copy and subscription sales. In markets where data is available, single copy sales have declined -26 per cent over the last four years, compared to a decline of -8 per cent in subscription sales. The packaging of print/digital subscriptions is becoming increasingly successful.

- For the first time, World Press Trends includes definitive readership data on the Middle East, thanks to WAN-IFRA’s partnership with IPSOS. Readership varies enormously, ranging from 5 per cent of people in Iraq to 70 per cent in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

The Middle East data shows a direct correlation between newspaper success and their appeal to female readers. As readership levels rise, so too does the ratio of female to male readers. In Iraq, one third of readers are women, compared to Kuwait where more women read newspapers than men. WAN-IFRA has previously reported that appealing to female readers is a key determinant in market success over the long term.