The Edge and BFM: A Marriage Better Late Than Never

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