Singapore Looks to China for Media Alliances

BEIJING: Singapore’s Media Development Authority led a delegation of 14 media companies on a trip to China, resulting in a slew of alliances to create TV movies, documentaries and more.

Content producers, channel operators, platform owners and media fund managers took part in the four-day trip. "China is increasingly placing a higher emphasis on developing and promoting its cultural industries to the world," said Dr. Tan Chin Nam, the chairman of the MDA. "In Singapore, we also recognize the importance of the creative industries in supporting an innovation economy. With a rising global demand for entertainment and media, there is immense potential for China and Singapore to join forces to harness the opportunities in the fast expanding international media space, especially in presenting content from New Asia to the world."

He continued: "The popularity of Little Nyonya in China when it was shown earlier this year has helped to rekindle Chinese interest in Singapore TV productions. We hope to build on this traction and ignite a new wave of China-Singapore media collaboration that is broader and deeper in scope. Other than paving the way for Singapore media companies to enter into China, we also hope to position Singapore as a key partner for Chinese media enterprises going international.”

MDA has inked a memorandum of understanding with China International TV Corporation (CITVC) and China Radio Film TV Program Exchange Centre (CPEC)—both divisions of state broadcaster CCTV—to exchange program and co-produce content. In addition, MDA will lead a contingent to the China Radio, Film & TV International Expo hosted by CITVC in Beijing, while CITVC will participate in the Asia Media Festival hosted by the MDA in Singapore.

MDA is also partnering with Central Newsreel Documentary Film Studio (CNDF) and China Information Business Network (CIBN) to co-produce five documentary series for global distribution, featuring footage of past and current China. CIBN also inked a deal with Singapore’s Asia Media & Technology Capital Management to collaborate on media industry venture investments in China.

The MDA has enhanced its collaboration with China Education TV (CETV), a partnership that has already resulted in the production of the 20×30-minute Our Children. The doc will simulcast on MediaCorp Channel 8 and CETV this year. The MDA and CETV will now expand the title to cover subjects of different age groups.

On the drama front, MDA has signed a letter of intent with the China Film Foundation (CFF) to co-produce ten TV movies over the next three years, for potential broadcast on CCTV-6. A letter of intent was also signed with China Broadcasting Performance Arts Group (CBPAG) to co-host the China-Singapore Film and TV Golden Melodies Concert, which will be broadcast in China and Singapore. The concert special will be exec-produced by MediaCorp, together with China Radio Film and TV Culture Performance.