Most, if not all newspapers in Singapore are commercial in nature and regularly compete for advertisers. While all of Singapore Press Holding's newspapers are subscription-based, MediaCorp Press' TODAY is circulated for free and therefore is heavily reliant on the advertising dollar.

Newspapers have traditionally dominated the ad market in Singapore. A Straits Times article in August 2005 reported that gross expenditure on newspaper advertisements was $353.1 million in the first half of the year, giving it 39.6 per cent of the ad market, a nose in front of television's 39.1 per cent.

2003 and 2004 did see some exceptions though when TV took up 44 per cent of advertising dollars, and newspapers, 36 per cent in 2004. In 2003, it was 41 per cent and 39 per cent respectively. This was also the period when the government decided to liberalise the media market and allowed MediaCorp to publish a newspaper and SPH to operate a broadcast channel.

According to the same article, SingTel, a local telco, ranked within the top 10 advertisers in terms of ad spending in 2005. The others included Nokia, Sony and Courts, with M1 and StarHub sharing the No. 1 position at $12.6 million each.

Newspapers and magazines circulation is audited by the Media Circulations Services (MCS) of Singapore. Set up in 1984 to ensure that the circulation claims of newspapers and magazines are authentic, MCS is the only independent, not-for-profit audit bureau in Singapore. Owned by the Advertising Media Owners Association Singapore, Singapore Advertisers Association and 4As, the audit bureau verifies the circulation numbers of newspapers - such as those published by Singapore Press Holdings - as well as magazines including Singapore FHM, Teenage and Young Families.

The Singapore Press Holdings reported in 2006 that it saw a 1.8% rise in advertising revenue for its newspaper and magazines for 2005. The company says that print advertising is expected to remain stable and sustain its circulation rates despite a declining trend in global newspaper circulations.

However research firm Datamonitor says that the group faces a vulnerable advertising market. According its Februrary 2006 SWOT analysis, advertisements contributed to about 66% of the company’s operating revenue in the fiscal year 2005. Thus, any downturn in the economic condition can have an adverse impact on the company’s advertising revenue. This happened during fiscal year 2002 when the advertising revenues declined by 22%. The company’s future financial performance is thus heavily exposed to economic conditions and their effect on the advertising market.

TODAY reported that it has already achieved a readership base of about 600,000, six years into its publication. A Nielsen Media Research survey found in October 2006 that TODAY has overtaken SPH’s Chinese daily, Lianhe ZaoBao, to move up to the number two spot. (What’s the difference between readership and circulation? How are they differently measured?)

A Straits Times article in February 2005 reported that MediaCorp Press had decided to cease independent audit bureaus to verify the circulation numbers of its free paper TODAY.

The article reported that TODAY's then editor-in-chief, Mr Mano Sabnani, said that the paper has chosen not to be audited as its readership numbers have increased and advertisers were 'getting good responses' to their ads and that its advertisers did not raise this as an issue.

According to media reports, advertising agencies say this lack of audited circulation figures may alienate some advertisers who insist on knowing exactly how many people their ads reach.

The lack of independently audited circulation data for TODAY first surfaced in a recent issue of a trade publication, Marketing, which said that the freesheet has failed to renew its audit with Media Circulations Services (MCS).

Launched in November 2000, TODAY was last audited for the six months from January to June 2003.

Media critics in Singapore say that for a free paper such as TODAY, circulation audits are all the more important as there are no paid subscription and sales figures.

The company also gives out the "Creative Awards Today" to advertisers, honouring daring and creativity in advertising.

The company awarded the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and MindShare Singapore for the HSBC's Bankwide sale campaign; Beiersdorf Singapore and OMD Singapore for the Nivea Body Night Whitening Milk ad; and Warner Bros and ~Mediaedge:cia Singapore for the movie Poseidon's ad in 2006. MediaCorp first issued the awards in 2005.