The ubiquitous spread of smartphones and rise of platforms has had a profound effect on the way consumers interact with news, globally. However, no region has been more influenced by the shift to mobile than that of Asia-Pacific. In fact, the chief reason consumers in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan are willing to spend on online news is because paying grants access to news on mobile apps.

You may also be surprised to learn that:

• Japanese consumers prefer text over video, whereas the opposite is true for the majority of other markets
• There is a chronic lack of diverse news content across all of Asia-Pacific, and that consumers are willing to pay for online news to fulfil this need
• Ironically, there is a higher level of trust in news in both Hong Kong and Singapore – two undemocratic, stringently controlled markets – than that of Taiwan and South Korea, both democratic, where trust is low