If you only entertain yourself online, then it’s your fault (sort of) that MediaCorp is going on a 4-day work week

If you have been getting most of your sports news online, then it’s no surprise that South-east Asia is set to see a boom in online advertising, according to a study by Yahoo! and Nielsen Online.

With the household broadband penetration rate hitting 96.9% in Singapore, more readers are making the internet their first port of call for their sports news, which may also explain why MediaCorp will go on a very European style four-day work week from April 2009.

This move comes despite the broadcast giant reporting revenues of S$530 million for the year ended March 31st, 2008 and profits of S$52 million.

“The upward trend in online advertising across South-east Asia will not be as hindered by the shadow of a global economic crisis; largely because the region is benefiting from the shift from traditional ad dollars to more effective and measurable Digital Media,” said Ken Mandel, Managing Director and Vice President, Yahoo! Southeast Asia.

The Singapore media spend was estimated at S$2 billion in 2007. Newspapers and television took home 75% of that pie. Online media, by contrast, only constituted 1.6% of total media spend, or S$32 million.

For sports fans, there is a scarcity of relevant programmes on free-to-air television channels operated by MediaCorp and most discount the broadcaster when it comes to sports.

REDpoll