Inter Press Agencies
1 September 2005
Making Media Monopolies
Anil Netto
PENANG , Aug 30 (IPS) - Visitors to Malaysia would be bewildered by the wide variety of newspapers, TV channels and radio stations that cater to most of the country's several language groups.
But as reality sinks in, it would become apparent that despite the deceptively wide range, mainstream media is becoming consolidated in the hands of a small number of privately-owned conglomerates with close links to the political establishment.
And amidst this small number, one media giant looms large over the others, quietly gobbling up television and radio stations as it tries to maximise its advertising revenue and overwhelm the competition.
'Media Prima,' the new kid on the block, sort of rose like a phoenix out of the rubble of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, being the creation of a de-merger exercise involving Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB), owner of the politically well-connected TV3 private television station and the New Straits Times Press(NSTP) group, in 2003.
The main aim of the exercise was to re-structure the debts of the heavily-levered TV3 and MRCB and, as part of it, Media Prima acquired a 100 percent stake in TV3 and a 43 percent stake in NSTP and assumed the listed status of TV3 on the Malaysian stock exchange.
In January, last year, the group launched a second television channel under the brand of '8TV', offering a mix of Chinese and English- language programmes.
This year, Media Prima has been busy again. In June, the company announced that it had acquired a 98 percent stake in 'Ch-9 Media Sdn Bhd,' which operated the now-defunct free-to-air television station, Channel 9. The station is expected to be re-launched next year.
Then, last month, the firm revealed that it had entered into a 'collaboration and assistance' agreement with the owners of the popular private television station 'NTV7' and the radio station 'WowFM'.
If the deal with NTV7 goes through, the Media Prima stable of firms could control some 85 percent of discounted advertising revenue from the country's free-to-air television stations. And it would command 46 percent of all television (including pay television) viewership, leaving its closest rival pay-television satellite operator, Astro, trailing at around 20 to 30 percent of viewership.
Apart from this, Media Prima also has interests in other media- related firms, including content creator Grand Brilliance Sdn Bhd, event management firm Tiga Events Sdn Bhd, and outdoor advertising firm, Right Channel Sdn Bhd.
That's not all: it recently acquired a 75 percent interest in Max Airplay Sdn Bhd, the operator of FlyFM, a radio station for the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
''Media Prima will become the dominant media company in Malaysia providing a comprehensive range of services to its customers pursuant to the proposed acquisitions,'' said the firm in a presentation to investors.
But not everyone is happy with such sweeping acquisitions. ''This is outrageous, immoral and wrong,'' a reader wrote to the independent news-portal Malaysiakini. ''In developed countries, anti-trust laws will make sure this sort of thing does not happen. The people need to watch the news on different, independent channels and then make up their own minds''.
Certainly, the acquisitions will further narrow the diversity of news and views currently available on Malaysian television stations -- not that it was all that broad to begin with.
The standard bearer in the Media Prima group of companies is TV3, by far the country's most popular television channel. Just before Abdullah Badawi took over as prime minister in November 2003, his press secretary of more than 10 years, Kamarulzaman Zainal, was appointed to the TV3 board of directors on Oct. 15, 2003. He was also appointed director of TV3's news and current affairs division.
If the past is any guide, the range of views on offer among the various private television stations is unlikely to be wide, more so, if these stations come under the same conglomerate.
It is not entirely clear who exactly owns Media Prima. Earlier this year, the Business Times, carried a report stating that a private investment company and the state pension fund manager, the Employees Provident Fund, were among the shareholders.
''Little is known about private company, Gabungan Kesturi Sdn Bhd. Sources said it is owned by Amanah Raya for and on behalf of Bumiputera (indigenous) investors,'' the Business Times report said, adding that the firm had acquired about 15.7 percent interest in Media Prima.
Media Prima not only dominates the television sector, it also has sizeable interests in the print media. The conglomerate has the largest combined circulation of newspapers, amounting to about 50 percent of Malay and English newspapers, and controls two of the top three best-selling newspapers in Malaysia, the Malay language Berita Harian and the fast-rising Harian Metro.
These two newspapers are read by close to three million Malaysians out of a population of 26 million.
The third top newspaper, Utusan Malaysia, is owned by the Utusan Melayu Group and is also believed to have close links to the dominant United Malays National Organisation (UMNO).
Media Prima's dominance in the media sector rivals that of Huaren Management, the investment arm of the second-largest component party in the ruling coalition, the Malaysian Chinese Association. Huaren owns the top-selling English daily, The Star, Chinese-language newspapers Nanyang Siang Pau and China Press, and the radio station STAR Rfm.
The big difference is that unlike its rivals, such as Utusan Melayu group, the Sin Chew group and Huaren, Media Prima is the only one, apart from Astro and the two government-owned television stations, with interests in television.
''It appears to be a two-pronged strategy,'' says media analyst Mustafa Kamal Anuar. ''One is to corner the advertising market and another is to manage news Output''.
''This would mean a narrowing of diversity in terms of programmes and of access to various shades of opinion. It does not bode well for media freedom and freedom of expression in the country,'' he said.
Ends
No comments:
Post a Comment