SPH Media Dominates Digital Media Awards Asia 2025

Singapore’s SPH Media Group dominated the WAN-IFRA Digital Media Awards Asia 2025, securing the most wins with a total of nine Gold and four Silver awards. The annual competition, now in its 16th year, recognizes innovation and excellence in digital media strategies across the Asia-Pacific region. This year’s contest saw a particularly competitive field with 193 submissions.

The awards were presented at a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur as part of the Digital Media Asia conference, Asia-Pacific’s largest event for digital news publishers. Mediacorp, also based in Singapore, followed with one Gold and three Silver awards.

Notably, the competition highlighted the growing capabilities of smaller media organizations. Companies like Kumparan, The Daily Aus, and VietnamPlus competed successfully against larger counterparts, even claiming Gold and Silver awards in their respective categories. This demonstrates a leveling of the playing field and a surge in creativity beyond established industry giants.

SPH Media’s wins spanned multiple categories, including Best News Website, Best Lifestyle or Sports Site, Best Use of Video, Best Data Visualisation, Best Newsletter, Best Podcast, Best in Audience Engagement, Best Digital Subscription/Reader Revenue Project, and Best Use of AI in Revenue Strategy. Mediacorp also secured wins in video and audience engagement.

Several first-time winners emerged, including The Daily Aus and VietnamPlus, signaling a broadening of success within the industry. The competition also recognized innovation in areas like AI implementation, with United Daily News Group receiving multiple awards for its AI-driven initiatives.

The awards underscore the importance of adapting to the evolving digital landscape. The success of smaller organizations demonstrates that innovation and impactful storytelling aren’t solely dependent on scale. The increasing integration of AI, as seen in several winning projects, suggests that this technology will continue to play a crucial role in the future of news publishing.

WAN-IFRA, the global organization for the world’s press, hosted the event and continues to champion the rights of journalists and publishers while providing resources for innovation in the digital age. Wilson Leong of WAN-IFRA Asia Pacific is the contact for inquiries. The organization represents a network of 3,000 news publishing companies and technology entrepreneurs across 120 countries.