SPH Media spending $3m in subsidies over a year to support newspaper delivery

SPH Media is spending a total of $3 million in monthly subsidies this financial year to support doorstep delivery of newspapers, SPH Media chief executive Chan Yeng Kit said on Feb 7.

- Shermaine Ang

In his remarks at SPH Media's Chinese Media Group (CMG) Annual News Awards and Chinese New Year gathering, Mr Chan touched on the challenges faced by newspaper vendors, with rising costs of delivery, shrinking print subscriptions as people switch to digital news, and high turnover among newspaper vendors.

To help vendors cope with the fall in income and rising costs, SPH Media has been giving them a subsidy of $4 a month for each doorstep delivery to a direct subscriber since April 2024, and will be doing so till March.

In his speech, Mr Chan highlighted the role of journalism in a "posttruth" and "post-literate" world, and stressed CMG's added role of connecting and supporting the Singaporean Chinese community.

"We will continue to review what it takes and continue to support our vendors and our partners," he said.