A Changing Media Landscape
In numbers, the Cambodian media landscape counts several hundreds of outlets. But the reality is different. For example, half of the registered TV stations represent almost all audience shares, and 11% of the print outlets are considered to be active. With 175 radio stations registered, the radio market is fragmented, the competition on licenses high, with no data on the number of active radios and their transmission range.
Internet Breakthrough
The media landscape is changing with the Internet taking over the radio popularity and experiencing a significant growth. As of today though, Cambodians are first exposed to TV (96%), then to the advertising and messages on tuk-tuk (92%), billboards (88%) and posters (83%) before getting to the Internet (39%). Even road signs (37%) are more present in the media landscape than the radio (35%). Print and newspapers represent a very small portion of the audience in Cambodia.
Media Affiliations
Over the 41 media outlets studied by the Media Ownership Monitor in Cambodia, at least 10 of them belong to politically affiliated owners. This represents about 43% of the print readership, 63% of the TV viewership, 8% of the radio listenership.
The rest of the media outlets mainly belongs to business men willing to advertise for their own companies in their media platforms, or to foreign-owned programs.
Sources
Cambodian Media & Research for Development (2015), Media Consumption Survey
Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (2015)