Next Digital
Hong Kong media group best known for publishing Apple Daily and Next Magazine before ceasing operations in 2021.
Last updated November 1, 2026
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Overview
Next Digital Limited, formerly Next Media Limited, was a Hong Kong-based media group founded by entrepreneur Jimmy Lai Chee-ying. Its principal businesses were newspaper and magazine publishing, digital news, printing, advertising, and related media services. The group became particularly associated with Apple Daily, a commercially successful daily newspaper launched in Hong Kong in 1995 and later expanded to Taiwan, and with Next Magazine, a news and entertainment title established in 1990. The company developed a distinctive editorial identity that combined aggressive tabloid presentation, investigative reporting, celebrity and lifestyle coverage, photography, political commentary, and highly visible support for Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement. Its publications were influential in Hong Kong's media market and attracted substantial readership, but they were also controversial because of their confrontational reporting style, political advocacy, privacy disputes, and clashes with authorities and commercial interests. Next Digital expanded beyond print into websites, online communities, specialist verticals, animation, printing, and television-related ventures. Its Hong Kong portfolio included Apple Daily, Next Magazine, Easy Finder, Face, Ketchup, JobFinder, AutoExpress, Trading Express, and a range of subject-specific online channels covering travel, education, motoring, health, sport, lifestyle, and horse racing. Its Taiwan operations included Apple Daily, Sharp Daily, Next Magazine, and the Taiwan edition of Me. Some magazine assets and businesses were sold or transferred during the group's operating history, including titles sold to Astro-related interests. The English corporate name changed from Next Media Limited to Next Digital Limited on 20 October 2015, reflecting the group's emphasis on digital publishing and online audiences. The organization remained publicly listed in Hong Kong and had more than 2,000 employees in 2020. Its websites reached sizable audiences in Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United States, and Canada, although the group remained financially dependent on advertising, circulation, digital subscriptions, and other media revenue. Next Digital's political stance became increasingly central to its corporate identity. Apple Daily and related outlets openly supported pro-democracy causes and criticized the governments of Hong Kong and mainland China. Following the enactment of Hong Kong's national security law in 2020, police arrested Jimmy Lai and several senior executives in connection with alleged national-security offenses. Authorities later froze assets linked to Apple Daily and associated companies. Unable to continue normal operations, the Hong Kong edition of Apple Daily published its final issue in June 2021. Large crowds bought the last print run, turning the closure into a major event in Hong Kong's press history. Next Digital and its principal publications subsequently became defunct. Next Digital's political stance became increasingly central to its corporate identity. Apple Daily and related outlets openly supported the pro-democracy cause and criticized the Hong Kong and mainland Chinese governments. After the Hong Kong national security law took effect in 2020, police arrested Jimmy Lai and several senior executives on alleged national-security offenses. Authorities subsequently froze assets linked to Apple Daily and related companies. Unable to continue normal operations, the Hong Kong edition of Apple Daily published its final issue in June 2021. Large numbers of residents bought the final print edition, making the closure a major event in Hong Kong journalism history. Next Digital and its principal publications ceased operations thereafter.
History
Next Digital emerged from Jimmy Lai Chee-ying's media ventures in Hong Kong. The group established Next Magazine in 1990, using a visually bold and commercially aggressive approach to news, entertainment, celebrity reporting, and social commentary. Apple Daily followed in 1995 as a daily newspaper. Its large photographs, accessible language, investigative stories, crime coverage, celebrity material, and strong political opinions helped it become one of Hong Kong's most widely read newspapers. The group built an integrated media operation rather than relying on a single newspaper. It owned or operated publishing companies, printing businesses, advertising and classified products, websites, digital communities, and specialist content channels. Its magazine portfolio included titles aimed at teenagers, women, motorists, job seekers, technology users, and general entertainment readers. Next Digital also developed online verticals covering travel, education, motoring, lifestyle, health, football, and horse racing. In Taiwan it operated local versions of Apple Daily and Next Magazine, as well as Sharp Daily and Me. The company became publicly listed in Hong Kong in 1999. Its formal senior-management structure included executive, audit, remuneration, and ad hoc committees. Jimmy Lai served as executive chairman for much of the early listed period and also took on chief-executive responsibilities during years when the chief-executive position was not separately used. Leadership later passed through Lim Tai-thong, Pieter Lodewijk Schats, Stephen Ting Ka-yu, Chu Wah-hui, Cassian Cheung Ka-sing, and Cheung Kim-hung, with Ip Yut-kin serving as chairman during portions of the later period. Next Digital's editorial and political identity became inseparable from its business. Apple Daily and other group outlets regularly supported pro-democracy politicians, movements, and civil-society causes, while taking a critical stance toward Beijing and the Hong Kong authorities. This position won loyalty among readers who valued outspoken journalism but also generated political pressure, advertiser caution, legal disputes, and criticism of the group's methods. Journalists working for the group received recognition in areas including human-rights reporting, investigative features, women's-issues reporting, photography, video, and Chinese-language journalism. The group renamed itself Next Digital Limited in English in October 2015. By 2019, its digital services had reported millions of monthly unique visitors across Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United States, and Canada. Nevertheless, the business faced the structural difficulties common to legacy newspaper groups, including declining print advertising, the migration of audiences online, and pressure on circulation and operating finances. The political environment changed sharply after Hong Kong's national security law came into force in 2020. On 10 August 2020, police arrested Jimmy Lai and other people connected with Next Digital, alleging offenses including collusion with foreign powers. The arrests were widely interpreted by press-freedom organizations as a test of whether the new law would be used against critical media. In 2021, authorities froze assets associated with Apple Daily and related companies. The newspaper was unable to continue publishing and closed after its final issue in June. The closure ended decades of Apple Daily journalism and effectively brought Next Digital's principal operations to an end.
- 2021
Apple Daily ceases publication
[1]The Hong Kong newspaper publishes its final issue after asset freezes and escalating legal and political pressure.
- 2020
Senior personnel are arrested under Hong Kong's national security law
[1]Police arrest Jimmy Lai and other people connected with the company in a national-security investigation.
- 2015
English corporate name changes to Next Digital
[1]Next Media Limited adopts the English name Next Digital Limited on 20 October.
- 2006
Selected magazine assets are sold to Astro-related interests
[1]Eat and Travel Weekly and Sudden Weekly are sold to Astro in November; a related Me title is subsequently established by Astro in Taiwan.
- 1999
The company becomes publicly listed
[1]Next Media's listed-company period begins in Hong Kong.
- 1995
Apple Daily launches in Hong Kong
[1]The group begins publishing Apple Daily, which grows into one of Hong Kong's most widely read newspapers.
- 1990
Next Magazine is established
[1]Jimmy Lai's media group launches Next Magazine, a major Hong Kong news and entertainment title that becomes the foundation of the later publishing portfolio.
Products and positioning
A commercially driven, digitally oriented news and entertainment publisher with a strongly pro-democracy editorial identity and a tabloid-style presentation.
Daily newspaper · 1995
Apple Daily
Next Digital's best-known newspaper, launched in Hong Kong in 1995 and later published in Taiwan. It combined popular news presentation with investigative journalism, celebrity and entertainment coverage, photography, commentary, and openly pro-democracy political coverage. The Hong Kong edition ceased publication in 2021.
News and entertainment magazine · 1990
Next Magazine
A weekly Hong Kong magazine founded in 1990. It covered current affairs, entertainment, celebrities, society, and investigative subjects, and became one of the group's principal print brands in both Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Free daily newspaper
Sharp Daily
A free daily newspaper published by the group's Taiwan operations as part of its expansion beyond paid newspapers and magazines.
Teen entertainment magazine
Easy Finder
A youth-oriented entertainment magazine in the Hong Kong portfolio.
Digital media
Next Digital online portals
A network of digital properties and specialist verticals covering women’s interests, travel, education, motoring, lifestyle, horse racing, football, health, and other subjects. The sites combined original content, aggregation, communities, and in some cases subscription services.
Controversies
2021
Asset freezes and the closure of Apple Daily
Assets linked to Apple Daily and related companies were frozen, preventing the newspaper from financing ordinary operations. The Hong Kong edition closed after publishing its final issue, ending one of the territory's most prominent independent media operations.
2020
Arrests of Jimmy Lai and Next Digital executives
Police arrested founder Jimmy Lai and senior personnel, including Cheung Kim-hung and Royston Chow, over alleged violations of Hong Kong's national security law. Press-freedom organizations said the arrests represented a serious threat to critical journalism and freedom of expression.
Brand decisions
2021
Terminate publication of Apple Daily in Hong KongOtherBackground
Following arrests, a national-security investigation, and the freezing of assets associated with the newspaper and related companies, the operation could not continue normally.
Action taken
Apple Daily published its final Hong Kong edition in June 2021.
Aftermath
The closure ended the newspaper's decades-long run and marked the effective end of Next Digital's principal Hong Kong operations.
2015
Rebrand from Next Media to Next DigitalStrategyBackground
The group was expanding its online publishing and digital audience while continuing to operate newspapers, magazines, printing, and related media businesses.
Action taken
The company changed its English name from Next Media Limited to Next Digital Limited on 20 October 2015.
Aftermath
The new name emphasized digital media, although the group's most recognizable products remained Apple Daily and other print publications.
Recent events
Reported
Apple Daily ceases publication[2]
Apple Daily ceased publication after its operating funds were frozen and an application to unfreeze or partially unfreeze them was not approved. The article reports that the closure prompted strong dissatisfaction and protests among Hong Kong journalists.
Reported
Apple Daily increases its print run[3]
Apple Daily increased its Friday print run to 500,000 copies, up from 80,000 copies on Thursday, anticipating strong demand.
Weekdays and relative dates follow the original report; their exact calendar dates have not been verified.
Reported
Apple Daily Taiwan announced planned layoffs[4]
Apple Daily Taiwan was expected to cut 326 employees across units including its factory, production, distribution and editorial departments.
Reported
Apple Daily Taiwan announced the end of its print edition[4]
Apple Daily Taiwan announced that it would stop publishing its print edition from May 18 and concentrate resources on the Apple News Network.
Sources4 sources
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