Milder Media Adex Contraction Expected In 2026 - Kenanga IB

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 (Bernama) -- Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd (Kenanga IB) has forecast a milder contraction in media advertising expenditure (adex) this year, supported by a low base effect and increased marketing activity surrounding major sporting events.

These sporting events include Malaysian Games (Sukma) Selangor scheduled to take place from Aug 15-24, the FIFA World Cup from June 11-July 19, and the Winter Olympics from Feb 6-22, it said in a note today.

Kenanga IB projected a 9.5 per cent decline in adex to RM4.24 billion, driven by broad-based weakness across free-to-air (FTA) TV, newspapers, magazines, radio, cinema and digital segments.

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Hence, the investment bank maintained its underweight stance on the media sector, as legacy media players continue to face structural adex share losses amid persistent cost pressures.

According to Kenanga IB, adex shrank 22 per cent in 2025 to RM4.74 billion, led by the FTA TV segment.

“As digital platforms continue to dominate and traditional media adex declines, legacy players must rely on proprietary content and cost efficiencies to remain relevant,” it added.

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Looking ahead, the investment bank opined that intellectual property (IP) ownership should not merely be ancillary revenue streams for Malaysian players like Media Prima and Astro, but as a fundamental balance-sheet asset that underpins enterprise value and creates opportunities for future consolidation.

“In our view, players that successfully transition from content distributors to scalable IP owners will be best positioned to remain relevant in a digital era dominated by global streaming platforms,” it said.

-- BERNAMA