TheSun: Can the tabloid maintain its dominant position?

1993
The Sun is launched in Malaysia as the country’s first tabloid targeted at white collar workers and urban youth. It is later rebranded as TheSun. In the initial years the newspaper is unable to draw enough advertising but it does develop a reputation for bold reporting.

April 2002
It is not until 2002 that TheSun adopts a free model under the stewardship of Tong Kooi Ong. The business model for the newspaper is completely changed and it starts relying solely on advertising for its revenue. It ties up with more than 500 partners to reach its customers. The new model takes off and by 2007 TheSun becomes profitable.

March 2008
Sun Media Corporation, which owns TheSun, becomes a subsidiary of Berjaya Corporation, which acquires a stake in the newspaper’s holding company Nexnews for US$44million. On 23 April 2008, Nexnews changes its name to Berjaya Media. Vincent Tan, who heads Berjaya Corporation, is believed to be a longtime crony of former prime-minister Mahathir Mohamad and a controversial figure in Malaysia. There are concerns about the objectivity of the newspaper and whether the change in ownership has been driven by political forces.

January 2010
TheSun becomes the leading distributed English newspaper in the country, according to figures released by Audit Bureau of Circulation. In the first six months of 2009, TheSun records an average distribution of 300,557 copies versus The Star’s 293,112 copies and the New Straits Times’ 116,411 copies. All other English newspapers in Malaysia experience a drop in circulation in 2009, primarily due to the economic climate.

Fast forward
Even though TheSun has overtaken its nearest competitor, it might be a challenge for the newspaper to maintain its dominant position. TheSun’s competitors claim that the newspaper’s increased circulation has not led to increased readership and the publishing company has been mindlessly dumping its copies on readers. It remains to be seen how seriously these accusations are taken by advertisers and whether increased circulation positively impacts advertising dollars.

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This article was originally published in the 14 January 2010 issue of Media.