SPH and StarHub sign MOU to exploit opportunities in converged media space

(Left to right) Mr Anthony Tan, executive vice-president of SPH’s Chinese Media group and Media Strategy and Analytics arm, SPH chief executive officer Alan Chan, StarHub chief executive officer Tan Tong Hai and StarHub chief strategic partnership officer Jeannie Ong. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO

SINGAPORE - Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and StarHub have signed a memorandum of understanding to take part in joint projects to take advantage of opportunities in the converged media space.

The partnership will span areas such as advertising sales, cross-media content creation and publishing, data analytics and marketing. For instance, there will be joint campaigns to bring richer content across both organisations' media platforms.

"This partnership with StarHub furthers our strategy to build an integrated, multi-platform business to better serve the needs of our readers and advertisers," said SPH chief executive officer Alan Chan.

SPH publishes flagship English broadsheet The Straits Times, financial daily The Business Times and Chinese broadsheet Lianhe Zaobao, among others.

"Together, I am confident that we can stay at the forefront of the evolving media landscape," he added.

StarHub brings to the partnership its TV products and business expertise, whereas SPH contributes news and content production know-how.

"Customers can look forward to more localised content that is close to their hearts, across platforms," said StarHub chief executive officer Tan Tong Hai.

"Businesses will also welcome our co-operation on the media sales front as it will give them more integrated advertising solutions," said Mr Tan, adding that businesses can also reach their target audiences more effectively.

Collaboration between SPH and StarHub go back over a decade.

In May 2003, they jointly launched the free info-educational channel Sars Channel with national broadcaster MediaCorp. It aired programmes about the severe acute respiratory syndrome in the four major languages, and selected Chinese dialects.

In 2005, SPH also provided mobile breaking news for StarHub's i-mode mobile Internet subscribers.

In August last year, the two companies worked together to produce and air an eight-episode talk show, Ministerial Coffee Talk.

Last month, StarHub also sponsored The Straits Times Digital Awards 2016, which recognises the best gadgets, games and innovations in the previous year.

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