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Singapore is moving steadily ahead
to establish itself as the broadcasting and production hub of
the Asia-Pacific region, with a host of broadcasting and production
activities, and the capabilities to serve the region and the
rest of the world.
To date, there are five free-to-air broadcasters comprising
MediaCorp TV, MediaCorp News,
MediaCorp Radio,
UnionWorks (NTUC Media Cooperative Limited)
and SAFRA Radio. For pay-TV, StarHub CableVision, a
cable TV operator offers about 93 channels and a wide variety
of digital and High Definition TV (HDTV) channels and programmes.
SingTel, a telecommunication company, entered the pay-TV market
in July 2007 by launching the mio TV. Rediffusion (S) Pte Ltd, a radio cable
operator, offers services in English and Mandarin. The only
free-to-air foreign station here is the British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC) World Service.
 In addition, there are about 15 satellite broadcasters licenced by the
Media Development Authority to uplink their services from
Singapore. They can use any of the four available uplink facilities
provided by ST Teleport, SingTel Telecast, MediaCorp T&T
(Transmission & Technology) and Asia Broadcast Centre
to do so. Alternatively, they can operate their own satellite
uplink facility, but a separate licence, issued by the Infocomm
Development Authority of Singapre (IDA), will be required.
(Zoe Tay, MediaCorp, hottest star seen here in Chinese
drama, Chang He)
A fair number of production and post-production companies
have also set up operations in Singapore and their operations
are growing in tandem with the broadcasting industry. They
include Four Media Company Asia, Film Formations Pte Ltd,
Infinite Frameworks, Oak3 Films, Sunrise Entertainment, The
Right Angle, The Moving Visuals Company and Video Headquarters.
Media Development
Authority
Media has never been so exciting, challenging
and important to Singapore. The Media Development Authority (MDA)
has been created to focus on and develop the media industry,
putting Singapore at the forefront of the media age. MDA is
formed by the merger of the Singapore Broadcasting Authority,
the Films and Publications Department, and the Singapore Film
Commission, on 1 Jan 2003. The setting up of MDA is in response
to the convergence of different media that requires a consistent
approach in developing and managing the different forms of
media.
Various initiatives, developments and standards
for television, film, video, radio, publication and new media
are handled by MDA. The organisation makes its guidelines
clear and consistent across all the media so as to create
a pro-business environment.
MDA has a dual-function role that contributes
to developing Singapore into a vibrant global media city as
well as a creative economy and a connected society. The first
is to promote the growth of the media industry. The second
is to manage content to protect core values and safeguard
consumers' interests.
The strategic thrusts of MDA are to:
- develop a state-of-the-art media city
- position Singapore as a media exchange
- export made-by-Singapore content
- augment the media talent pool
- foster a conducive regulatory environment and culture
StarHub
CableVision
With over 93 channels of quality international
programming, including news, movies, entertainment, sports,
music and education, Singaporeans and foreigners living in
Singapore now have access to a wide choice of digital channels
and programmes. Individual channels such as HBO, Cinemax,
CNN, BBC, ESPN, STAR Sports, Discovery and MTV cater to niche
audiences with niche programming such as sports, music, movies,
dramas, information and news. For the expatriate population
in Singapore, there are channels catering to their specific
needs such as Australia TV (Australia), NHK World (Japan),
TV5 (France), Deutsche Welle (Germany), CCTV-4 (China), Phoenix
Chinese (Hong Kong) and Worldnet (US). StarHub CableTV subscription
base has hit 490,000 todate.
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