MEDIA MARKET DATA - World Association of Newspapers

Schibsted, which owns the largest newspapers in Norway and Estonia as well as successfulpapers in France and Spain, bought 66.7 percent of St. Petersburg's Moi Raion newspaper inMarch. http://www.moscowtimes.ru/stories/2006/05/23/012.html; May 23, 2006South AfricaThe phenomenal growth of the Zulu-language tabloid Isolezwe - 32% year-on-year since the2002 launch date - continues unabated with average daily sales of 100,000 now well withinrange. Latest AMPS figures show the paper attracts just under 600,000 readers daily whilesales average around 89,500 (they were 34,000 in the second half of 2002). The Durban-basedtitle in the Independent Newspapers' stable has entrenched itself in the middle market,appealing to an upwardly mobile audience. And significantly, Isolezwe appeals to womenwho comprise 43% of its readers. Isolezwe readers are very proudly Zulu and passionateabout their culture. But, that doesn't mean they hold on to the past without embracing modernlife. Readers are keen consumers of modern technology, stylish clothes, fancy cars,sophisticated drinks, and the like. http://www.biz-community.com/Article/196/90/9244.html;February 13, 2006ThailandMass-circulation daily newspapers are considering raising their prices for the first time inseven years to between Bt10 and Bt13 in March from the current Bt8 to offset increasingcosts of paper and transportation. A source from a newspaper agency said that large masscirculationnewspapers, including Thai Rath Daily News and Kom Chad Leuk were havinginformal talks, and are ready to increase their prices. All other papers are waiting for ThaiRath, which has the largest circulation, to make the first move. The source said that manymagazines including Praew, House and Garden, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s OrSor Tor, have already adjusted their prices since the end of last year. In the middle of January,semi-weekly business newspapers Thansetthakij and Prachachart Thurakij raised their retailprice to Bt25 from Bt20, similar to weekly business newspapers such as Krungthep Thurakijand BizWeek. Manager Weekly will raise its copy price in the next two to three months.“They [major mass-circulation daily newspapers] suggested a maximum price of Bt15 afterthe adjustment. The price increase will meet the continuous increase of raw material costs,particularly paper, as well as transportation costs. The price adjustment may be announced inMarch,” said the source. Another source from a mass-circulation newspaper said thatpublishing firms had been meeting since January to discuss how they should deal with coststhat have been increase for more than a year now. Since the end of 2004, paper prices haverisen from US$550 (Bt21,634) per tonne to $640, while transportation costs jumped by 50 percent thanks to increasing diesel prices. “It is widely accepted that both small and majornewspaper firms have been affected severely by the increase in paper and transportation costs.It depends on the financial strength of each publication whether and how long that they canbear increasing costs,” said the source. He added that price increases might affect the sales ofpublications. Se-Education Plc, a local book store chain, yesterday issued its publicationsurvey “The Best in Newspapers and Magazines 2005”. The survey of more than 430publishing outlets, found that 96 new magazines were launched last year, compared with 85magazines in 2004. Of the new magazines last year eight were women’s magazines, eightentertainment, eight education, seven tourism, seven automobile, six high-tech products, fourmarketing and four teenage girls variety magazines. For the mass-circulation dailynewspapers, the top five sellers of 2005 were the same as 2004: Thai Rath, Daily News, KomChad Leuk, Khao-sod and Matichon. The best selling daily business newspaper in 2005 wasManager Daily, up from the third place in the previous year, followed by Krungthep Thurakij(140,000 copies) and Post Today (80,000 copies). According to the survey, Manager Daily5