The Edge and BFM: A Marriage Better Late Than Never

04-Sep-13 14:48

The Edge and BFM: A Marriage Better Late Than Never

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For BFM's 5th Anniversary Breakfast Grille, Ho Kay Tat, Group CEO and Publisher of The Edge Media Group and Malek Ali, Managing Director and Founder of BFM Media, discuss:

- Malek - fifth anniversary - has it met financial and otherwise expectations

- Expansion into non-broadcast avenues with B-school and B-Side

- Kay Tat -- The Edge was in the news recently for having bought 23 percent in BFM.
It’s not majority -- and therefore goes against the grain of Tong Kooi Ong’s ethos, the man who owns The Edge, who only ever buys 50.1% and more.
Why the break with tradition?

STAKE PURCHASE

- Reasons
- Valuations
- Synergies
- Mindset: LT / exit / details
- Edge Comms IPO - meld issues

EDGE ISSUES

- Biz update -
- Ad market - health of
- Editorial thrust: update

Print challenge
- outlook - rates - discounting - WaPost -
- The Edge Review
- DS Clement Hii - HCK Media - competition - deep pockets
- Broader: competition - MKini print licence application - FZ status, news reports

New Media - Gen Y
- New media expansion - tablets - EdgeReview FEER // BSide - Culture/People/Politics - how have these gone these past two months
- Difficulties - FZ - penetration - reach - P2Profitability - adoption - etc
- The Edge Online - nascence - print cannibalism
- Other platforms: Personal Money - Art - issues

BFM RADIO

- MCMC - Media freedoms
- Expansion: events - grad ed - tablets - Pg - JB - visibility

INDUSTRY - POLICY
- Media freedoms - liberalisation of the PPPA - applications for all media --

OWNER ISSUES

- BFM - board - issues - owner manager - income investment not IPO
- LT Plans
- succession planning

- Edge - Tong - issues
- Hands-on
- Ongoing reasons for ownership
- (Rumoured) IPO Plans

INDUSTRY
- Talent
- Compensations
- Ecosystem

THE FUTURE OF MEDIA

- HKT: “Just like you get the government you deserve” -- “You get the media you deserve” - expect news for free - challenges
- Crystal ball - where is the future of media - Malaysia / regionally
- changing dynamics on how we get our news - consumption - Gen Y

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Tags: breakfast grille, bfm anniversary

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