Digital media, influence, comeback
This one involves two former Umno politicians-turned-podcasters.
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Bursa-listed Catcha Digital last week announced it’d be teaming up with Khairy Jamaluddin and Shahril Hamdan to establish a company called KS Lagi.
The name is a play on the duo’s podcast Keluar Sekejap (KS). Khairy is the former health minister while Shahril is the former Umno information chief.
Both started the podcast after losing their respective 2022 general election contests. Khairy would be kicked out of Umno while Shahril was suspended for six years.
A number of people will be roped into making the deal work, among others, Khailee Ng, a managing partner of venture capital firm 500 Global. Ng’s involvement, for now, is in his personal capacity and not as a 500 representative.
The partnership with Bursa-listed Catcha Digital will see KS diversifying into lifestyle content, the podcast’s co-founder Shahril was quoted as saying in a statement last week.
The digital media group would take over the commercial and business responsibilities for the existing KS business and KS Lagi.
Catcha Digital chairman Patrick Grove said that the partnership aligned with his mission to “build a leading profitable digital group in Southeast Asia”.
KS positioned itself as a popular podcast on Malaysian current affairs, attracting a lot of attention, both good and bad.
But building a digital media brand in Malaysia is tough, more so in an environment where ownership remains in the hands of a few.
Even the likes of Ng, a veteran in the VC space, had to tap the pockets of Johari Abdul Ghani, a senior Umno official and now minister in Anwar’s government, to fund a separate media venture.
And with KS having a key man risk1, is the aim to really build a digital powerhouse?
Notes and observations below: