MEDIA SECTOR IN MALAYSIA TO PROSPER THIS YEAR, 1Q11 ADEX SURGES 13 PCT

KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 (Bernama) -- The media sector will continue to prosper in 2011, spurred by factors such as the potential of an early general election and resilient consumer spending, a research house says.

Nielsen Media Research said advertising expenditure (adex) for the first quarter of this year surged 13 per cent year-on-year to RM1.83 billion (US$608.478 million) with spending on three core divisions -- newspapers, television and radio channels.

"The stellar Q111 numbers reinforce our conviction that adex growth may hit multiples of two times to three times of our 2011 GDP growth forecast of 5.8 per cent in view of the impending polls and improving consumer sentiments," it said.

It maintained an overweight call on the sector thematic factors as the impending general election would be the key catalyst this year.

Newspapers remained the most popular advertising medium at 53.6 per cent adex share, OSK said in a research note Friday.

It Said the first quarter of this year was the first quarter in over a year when newspaper publishers lost ground over TV channels due to increased adspend among fashion brands and hypermarkets coupled with cessation of the World Cup Tv advertisements campaigns.

Within the newspaper universe, the Bahasa Melayu (Malay language) segment registered the strongest growth, with Harian Metro being the growth engine, followed by Chinese and English dailies.

Meanwhile, the research house said expenditure on TV advertising expanded 11.5 per cent year-on-year to RM653 million (US$217.123 million) in the quarter, during which there was a resurgence of public-owned channels TV1 and TV2.

"However we don't see the two stations as much of a threat to Media Prima," it said, adding that Media Chinese International and Media Prima being its top buys.