Report: Consumers in Singapore Getting More Legal Digital TV Offerings

SINGAPORE: The amount of multi-screen, multiplatform offerings of legitimate programming is rapidly increasingly throughout Singapore, according to the findings of a new report from CASBAA and the international media and technology law firm Olswang.

It has been argued before that Singaporean consumers’ lack of access to quality digital content is what had been driving them to use illegal services. However, the new report, Digital, Legal and Anywhere: TV in Singapore Today, finds that there are now numerous legal new-media TV offerings available in Singapore. The offerings, it says, are diverse and priced competitively. There are even a large number of free services (44 percent of those surveyed were free).

The majority of options are coming from established content providers and pay-TV platforms such as StarHub and SingTel’s mio TV—sometimes separately and sometimes in partnership—though options coming from international OTT providers are still limited. The content itself has also improved. Singaporean consumers are now able to access TV series, movies, sports and news in library, live and catch-up formats. Many services also cater to the desire to view popular U.S. series at the same time as or soon after their American launch.

The report continues that Singapore offers many opportunities, being technologically advanced and having an affluent population who are already consuming digital content in increasing volumes. "The comparatively small size of its population may mean that offerings by international players tend to be regional rather than dedicated offerings but there is also room for local or regional players to offer bespoke or niche content to the multi-lingual Singapore population," the report states.

A key issue though is that consumers in Singapore need help understanding what’s available to them. To further this cause, CASBAA and Olswang have created a directory of the new-media TV offerings currently available in Singapore. Found at finddigitaltv.com, the resource is intended to serve as a starting point for consumers to get a snapshot of what all is available to them.

The report goes on to acknowledge that the main challenge still left to battle is the prevalent use of illegal services by Singaporean consumers.