SPH’s Decline: A Cautionary Tale for Businesses That Fail to Evolve
Around a month ago, Patrick Daniel, former interim CEO of SPH Media Trust, delivered a lecture outlining what needs to be done for SPH to become financially sustainable by 2045. He emphasized the importance of adopting digital technologies and AI to drive innovation. Despite sounding forward-thinking, Daniel’s ideas revealed a deeper issue: SPH’s failure to anticipate media trends and shift away from traditional models. The organization’s obsession with dominance over adaptation resulted in its current challenges.
SPH, once a dominant force in Singapore’s media landscape, failed to recognize that its old business model was becoming obsolete. While it controlled print and secured its market share, it overlooked emerging digital platforms and shifting consumer behaviors. In contrast, global companies like Shell proactively prepare for future changes in their industries.
Mr. Daniel’s comments, such as predicting print would fully shift to digital by 2045, show that SPH is significantly behind in an era where real-time adaptation is crucial. The lecture’s focus on AI, data, and e-newspapers might seem relevant, but the timeline reveals a media company stuck in the past.
The reality is that SPH operated under the security of limited competition and government support, but market forces eventually caught up. This is why it ultimately had to transform into SPH Media Trust, a non-profit organization, relying more on donations than consumer demand.
The future of SPH serves as a cautionary tale: businesses that ignore innovation, especially in consumer-focused sectors, risk being left behind. The lesson here is clear—organizations, even those that dominate their markets, need to continuously evolve to meet modern expectations, or they will eventually face irrelevance, like Nokia did in the phone industry.
In conclusion, the failure of SPH as a profitable entity shows that its stagnation is deeply rooted in its inability to adapt. By shielding itself from competition and delaying necessary changes, SPH’s management ultimately led it to where it is today. Going forward, it must learn from this failure, and organizations across the board should take heed of the vital need to innovate continuously and align with changing market trends.
