New S'pore tabloid faces tough fight

New S'pore tabloid faces tough fight

SINGAPORE (Reuters): A new English-language newspaper hits Singapore's streets on Friday, but analysts say the Today free tabloid will find it hard to dent the dominance of incumbent Singapore Press Holdings (SPH).

Aimed at the city state's commuters, Today will provide a fresh perspective and cheaper advertising, Ernest Wong, chief executive officer of its publisher, state-owned MediaCorp of Singapore (MCS), said on Thursday.

But an analyst at a local research house questioned whether its target readership of train commuters and housewives would appeal to advertisers.

"In media, it's not just the number of readers but also the quality of readers," the analyst said.

The government granted MCS a newspaper license and in turn allowed SPH to broadcast free-to-air television over two channels and granted it two radio licenses.