SPH launches entertainment website to target younger audiences

The new products include entertainment websites ‘The Straits Times Lollipop’ and the 'ST Entertainment' microsite, as well as social event guide, the 'Straits Times Happening App'.

The product launches comes as the latest media report by Nielsen showed printed newspapers remain the staple read for adults in Singapore, but readership levels are declining as consumers increasingly turn to digital platforms.

‘The Straits Times Lollipop’ entertainment website will be hosted by STOMP, and will target Singaporean and Asian audiences specifically.

The website will cover news, celebrity gossip, music videos and movie reviews from Asia and Hollywood.

Azhar Kasman, editor of STOMP, said the objectives are to deepen engagement with younger readers, attract new audiences and provide new content.

“It’s a very Asia-centric entertainment site, and it’s a very young and hip website,” he said. “You can see from the design and layout that it is catered to the younger audience.”

SPH is also launching an 'ST Entertainment Community' microsite, a user-led platform allowing readers to contribute views alongside the newspaper’s journalists.

Users login via their Facebook, Gmail or Twitter accounts to contribute text, pictures or video/audio links.

Ernest Luis, social media editor, Straits Times online, said the objective is to create an “online social hangout” where readers and ST journalists are on the same level.

“On news websites, readers comments and contributions are always relegated to comments below the stories," he said. "We want... the readers, ST journalists, the artists, musicians, actors, the community practitioners to be published alongside each other."

The company is also launching an 'ST Happening' app, aimed to become a social one-stop event guide.

The social app will list forthcoming events in Singapore, allowing users to see which friends have looked at the listing or are attending the event.