Next Digital Limited, previously known as Next Media Limited, was the largest listed media company in Hong Kong. Founded by Jimmy Lai, it had 2,095 employees as of 30 Sep 2020. The media outlet had a user base of 5.0 million monthly unique visitors in Hong Kong, 12.3 million monthly unique visitors in Taiwan, 1.7 million in the US and 399,0002 in Canada up till 2019. Apple Daily, the newspaper of the media group, was the most read newspaper in the city. The company became defunct on 15 December 2021.

History

From 20 October 2015, the company has changed its English name to Next Digital Limited, from Next Media Limited. Under a grim political climate, the news outlet's intrepid political activism infuriated the Beijing regime. Some companies with ties to China had refrained from putting advertisements on any publication of the media group due to the heightened political pressure exerted on the business bodies in the city. Next Media's irreverent probe into sensitive social topics is what believed to be the reason of a triad-style vandalism targeted at the press offices, followed by the forced shut-down in 2021.

Raid by the police

On 10 August 2020, Jimmy Lai, the founder of Next Digital, was arrested by the Hong Kong Police early morning that day for alleged collusion with foreign powers after a Beijing-led investigation. A post on Twitter from the media group's executive, Mark Simon, confirmed the arrest. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) reported that "the arrest of media tycoon Jimmy Lai bears out the worst fears that Hong Kong's National Security Law would be used to suppress critical pro-democracy opinion and restrict press freedom". Steven Butler, CPJ's Asia program coordinator, commented, "Jimmy Lai should be released at once and any charges dropped." The Hong Kong Police made arrest of seven people aged 39 to 72 who have been accused of violating the new security law. The arrestees included Jimmy Lai (Founder of Next Digital Limited), Cheung Kim Hung (CEO of Next Digital Limited), Chow Tat Kuen, Royston (executive director and CFO of Next Digital Limited).

Political position

The news media has often offered explicit, proactive support for pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong. The paper is regarded to hold libertarian views on financial and economic issues.

Awards and recognition

A slew of news articles authored by journalists from Next Media had received recognition through news awards such as Human Rights Press Awards, Investigative Feature Writing, Excellence in Reporting on Women's Issues, Hong Kong News Awards, Hong Kong Institute of Professional Photographers Awards, Excellence in Video Reporting, Spot News Photography Prizes, Chinese-Language Cartoon / Illustration Merit, Chinese-Language News Merits, etc. On the day of shutdown, queues of citizens snapped up the total 1 million copies of Apple Daily's last print, marking a sensational end to the paper's decades of journalism and a symbol of Hong Kong's media pluralism.

The Hong Konger: Jimmy Lai's Extraordinary Struggle for Freedom film

Next Digital was featured in the film, The Hong Konger: Jimmy Lai's Extraordinary Struggle for Freedom. A documentary film produced by American think tank Acton Institute which received universally positive reviews from critics.

Hong Kong publications

Monday Book – A set of four magazines sold together for HK$12 on Monday mornings that are more thematically male and commercially focused. Friday Book – A set of three magazines sold together for HK$12 on Friday mornings that are more thematically female and leisure-focused. At the end of 2008, Next Media relinquished its holding in these three magazines, whose editorial management since early 2009 has been tied to TVB Weekly (the official magazine of Television Broadcasts Limited and owned by a joint venture between Malaysian media conglomerate company Astro All Asia Networks plc (Astro) and Albert Yeung's Emperor Group).

Hong Kong publications

The Atnext.com network is the No. 1 online Chinese new, information and current events portal from Hong Kong and reaches more than 2 million users per month, audited by Neilsen//Netratings. Vertical/community portals In addition to original exclusive content and social networking tools, these sites aggregate content from all other sites.

Taiwan publications

Corporate structure

The top management committee of the company is the Board. The Board is responsible for overseeing the successful of Next Media and devising the company's future strategy. The Board delegates the running of Next Media's day-to-day operations to carefully chosen executive directors and senior management. The Board looks to the management to ensure it is apprised of all significant developments that may affect the company and its operations. There are four committees established by the Board, granted for different kinds of duties.

Senior leadership

Note: Senior leadership only reflects the structure since the Group's listing in 1999; previously, it was a private company with no formal structure

List of chairmen

List of chief executives

Note: The position of Chief Executive was not used during the years 2002–2006, as the then-Executive Chairman Jimmy Lai took on CEO responsibilities from his post

Subsidiaries