The State of Media Publisher Landscape in Thailand
The arrival of a new digital era has caused the media publishing industry in Thailand to experience dramatic changes over the past years. The new era does not only involve the shift from print media to online media but also challenges the publishers to adapt to different formats which are mobile-friendly.
One of the major upheavals is the shutdown of the Thai daily newspaper, Baan Muang in 2016 after being the publishing industry for 44 years. According to Nikkei Asian Review, the financial pressure due to the emergence of new digital media publishers in Thailand plus the fierce competition have made a few well-known local presses such as The Nation, Daily News and Matichon to depend on the financial support from the junta in order to survive. The advertising spends of online media platforms was also more than that of the newspaper for the first time in 2017.
On a side note, digitalization also brings together 12 leading publishers, namely BEC-TERO, Dek-D, Kapook, Manager, MThai, Nation, OTV, Pantip, Post Today, Sanook, SiamSport, and Thairath to form a new co-operative, OPPA in May 2017 to enable businesses to access an inventory from the publishers. In September 2017, The Bangkok Post Group signed an agreement with Cxense to improve data management and user experience for their digital business, showing that the print conglomerate has started to move its focus on the digital media.
Why Are Traditional Publishers in Thailand Going Digital?
Adapting to Evolving Consumer Habits and Trends
According to the data released in January 2017 by the National Statistical Office of Thailand, there are more than 90% of the internet users in Thailand who use smartphones to go online. Furthermore, its capital city, Bangkok was the top city with the highest number of active Facebook users (22 million users).
The 2018 report from Hootsuite and We are Social reveals that 26% of the total population in Thailand check news using smartphones whereas 19% of them use smartphones to read e-books or e-magazines. It is also surprising to find out that the Thai internet users spend an average of 9.38 hours per day accessing the internet. This is more than users in other countries such as the United States (6.30 hours), Brazil (9.14 hours), South Africa (8.32 hours) and Indonesia (8.51 hours).
All these data show that consumers in Thailand have changed their habits and highly relied on mobile phones to get the latest news and information. This mobile-first trend plus the financial woes signify massive challenges to the traditional media publishers to change their operating models in order to stay in the battleground.
List of Popular, Emerging Digital Publishers in Thailand
Here is a list of top digital publishers in Thailand, sorted into various categories:
General News
| Publishers | Monthly Web Visits* | Facebook Likes^ (as of Dec 2018) |
| Sanook | >55 million | 3.4 million |
| Thairath | >45 million | 10.5 million |
| Kapook | >40 million | 3.1 million |
| Khaosod | >35 million | 13.1 million |
| MTHAI | >30 million | 1.2 million |
Lifestyle Publishers
| Publishers | Monthly Web Visits* | Facebook Likes^ (as of Dec 2018) |
| TrueID | >1 million | 781,000 |
| Hello! Thailand | >95,000 | 153,000 |
| Thailand Tatler | >20,000 | 71,000 |
Business Publishers
| Publishers | Monthly Web Visits* | Facebook Likes^ (as of Dec 2018) |
| Kaidee | >10 million | 1.7 million |
| bangkokbiznews | >3.5 million | 280,000 |
| Positioning Magazine | >640,000 | 369,000 |
| siamturakij | >20,000 | <350 |
Style & Beauty Publishers
| Publishers | Monthly Web Visits* | Facebook Likes^ (as of Dec 2018) |
| SistaCafe | >3 million | 1.2 million |
| Jeban | >1 million | 1.2 million |
| cosmenet.in.th | >350,000 | 300,000 |
| JEAB.com | >250,000 | 155,000 |
| Vogue Thailand | >120,000 | 103,000 |
Food & Beverage Publishers
| Publishers | Monthly Web Visits* | Facebook Likes^ (as of Dec 2018) |
| wongnai | >6 million | 3.6 million |
| EDTguide | >1 million | 2 million |
| Openrice Thailand | >600,000 | 30,000 |
| Foodpanda | >300,000 | 3.1 million |
| BKKMENU | >170,000 | <216,000 |
Technology Publishers
| Publishers | Monthly Web Visits* | Facebook Likes^ (as of Dec 2018) |
| beartai | >2 million | 499,000 |
| OVERCLOCK ZONE | >2 million | 235,000 |
| IT24HRS | >950,000 | 764,000 |
| THAIWARE | >550,000 | 140,000 |
| TECHXCITE | >500,000 | 205,000 |
Parenting Publishers
| Publishers | Monthly Web Visits* | Facebook Likes^ (as of Dec 2018) |
| theAsianparent thailand | >2 million | 1.1 million |
| Mama Expert | >450,000 | 402,000 |
| maerakluke | >300,000 | 598,000 |
| konthong | >170,000 | 360,000 |
| S-momclub | >70,000 | 735,000 |
Entertainment Publishers
| Publishers | Monthly Web Visits* | Facebook Likes^ (as of Dec 2018) |
| Pantip | >70 million | 2.6 million |
| Ch3Thailand | >3 million | 2.4 million |
| Siam Zone | >3 million | <10,000 |
Travel Publishers
| Publishers | Monthly Web Visits* | Facebook Likes^ (as of Dec 2018) |
| chillpainai | >1.5 million | 299,000 |
| painaidii | >1 million | 523,000 |
| Amazing Thailand | >350,000 | 2.4 million |
| TripCanvas Thailand | >250,000 | 54,000 |
| Tourism Authority of Thailand | >50,000 | 2.4 million |
Home & Design Publishers
| Publishers | Monthly Web Visits* | Facebook Likes^ (as of Dec 2018) |
| baanlaesuan | >1 million | 1.2 million |
| ihome108 | >350,000 | 510,000 |
| banidea.com | >300,000 | 1 million |
| homify.co.th | >300,000 | 11.8 million |
| Global House | >150,000 | 302,000 |
Health Publishers
| Publishers | Monthly Web Visits* | Facebook Likes^ (as of Dec 2018) |
| ThaiHealth | >750,000 | 488,000 |
| LOVEFITT | >300,000 | 183,000 |
| phyathai | >125,000 | 219,000 |
*Figures obtained from SimilarWeb for the root domains for the month of December. SimilarWeb “calculates a visit (Session) for a website if a visitor accesses one or more pages. Subsequent page views are included in the same visit until the user is inactive for more than 30 minutes. If a user becomes active again after 30 minutes, that counts as a new visit. A new session will also start at midnight.”
^Figures below 1 million are rounded off to the nearest thousand.
Tapping the Marketing Potential of the Digital Publisher in Thailand
This mapping of the digital media publisher landscape in Thailand provides some insights to the marketers by highlighting on the potential of Thailand to become the central hub of digital marketing thanks to its high mobile internet penetration and bustling business activities. It presents the marketers a myriad of opportunities to tap into this market.
An impactful ad that matches the taste or pinpoints of your target market is always the cornerstone of any successful digital marketing campaigns. Instead of working with the largest publishers in Thailand, it is better than to pick an appropriate online publisher that suits your brands and appeal to your target audience.
Looking for the right publisher is time-consuming and not easy. Hence, a professional agency with a strong knowledge of Thai media publishing sector is your panacea to get things done while achieving the desired marketing results. Contact us now to find out more!
