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BroadcastAsia, Singapore, June 16, 2009 - (ACN Newswire) - Singapore's national media blueprint, the Singapore Media Fusion Plan (SMFP), was officially launched today at BroadcastAsia 2009, along with initiatives to strengthen the media ecosystem; fuel the creation of innovative content and services with global appeal; and, develop world-class talents to support a thriving industry.
Building on the previous Media 21 blueprint, the SMFP supports the country's transition to a creative economy by laying the directions to transform Singapore into a trusted global capital for New Asia Media.
"The media sector is in the midst of dynamic change, driven by convergence and the rise of Asia as a content powerhouse and one of the most influential markets in the world. The Singapore Media Fusion Plan is our response to the altered global landscape. It gears up Singapore companies to respond to the fresh opportunities in today's new world order by enabling the creation of New Asia Media, be it content, services or applications, that resonate with the world, whilst leveraging on Singapore's strengths and strategic location as an East-West gateway," said Dr Christopher Chia, Chief Executive Officer, Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA).
SMFP sets out three strategies to propel the media sector forward. The first aims to provide the best environment for media business. The second leverages R&D to help the media sector exploit new opportunities in the digital media value chain. The final strategy calls for Singapore to remain connected to the world to enhance the international appeal of Singapore-made content, applications and services. Funds of S$230 million have been allocated to drive the initiatives under the Plan, representing a 40% increase from Media 21 nd coming on top of S$500 million already committed to interactive digital media research and development.
As part of the SMFP launch, several new initiatives were introduced:
1. A partnership between MDA and SingTel to strengthen the distribution capabilities of Mediapolis@one-north
2. New manpower upgrading and training programmes supported under MDA's META initiative
3. Formation of FutureTV alliance and Call for Proposals
Strengthening Singapore's distribution capabilities
To boost the distribution capabilities of Singapore, MDA and SingTel have established a strategic partnership that will see SingTel's Broadcast Innovation Centre (BIC), located at SingTel's Satellite Earth Station in Bukit Timah, seamlessly linked to Mediapolis@one-north, the self-contained 19-hectare media park incorporating a soundstage complex, digital postproduction studios, work lofts as well as retail, recreation and accommodation facilities, via high-speed connectivity of 100Mbps.
This state-of-the-art facility serves as a powerful communications gateway that connects companies at Mediapolis@one-north to over 40 major media centres in the world via satellite and terrestrial fibre networks. With this distribution capability in place, media players will be able to cost-effectively and efficiently send their locally-produced content directly to their counterparts or broadcast stations overseas, eliminating the need for additional third party intervention. This initiative will serve to extend the reach of local media companies and facilitate worldwide access for Asian content.
Companies with innovative applications or technologies can also utilise BIC, which is equipped with multi-platform capabilities, for proof-of-concept testing and evaluation. By lowering the cost of product development through this laboratory, technology entrepreneurs will have the resources they need to bring their innovations to market, at a fraction of the cost.
Nurturing Singapore's talents
A key plank of the SMFP is talent development, with MDA embarking on a new programme called Media Training & Attachment (META) to give work exposure and training opportunities in Singapore and overseas, to local talents and media professionals. Through META, SingTel will take on the role of training partner to provide on-the-job training in broadcast engineering and technology. SingTel is concurrently working with Ngee Ann Polytechnic to develop new broadcast engineering courses and to offer students practical experience in live broadcasting environments at the BIC to complement their course work. In addition, the students will also have access to the BIC facilities for research and development purposes.
Another key initiative supported by META is a five-year tie-up between MDA and the NUSDigital Hollywood Lab, established by the National University of Singapore's Interactive and Digital Media Institute (IDMI), which will see up to 40 media talents matched each year with major television and motion picture companies such as The Walt Disney Company, American Broadcasting Company (ABC), ESPN and The Jim Henson Company in the US for up to six-month training stints. These work attachments will provide Singaporeans and Singapore Permanent Residents advanced technical and specialised training, covering skill sets from serious game design and development to TV documentary filming and production, music technologies as well as interactive control for computer animation and animatronics.
Innovations in digital media
Major players of the interactive digital media industry have joined forces to form a FutureTV partner network that will see its members leverage on each other's capabilities and resources to fuel industry innovation. The goal: To use Singapore as a test-bed for innovative services that will shape a new generation of visual media experiences, resulting in greater interactivity and personalisation in the consumption of content.
To draw participation from the broader industry to be part of FutureTV, the partner network, together with MDA, are launching the first call for proposals to Singapore technology and media companies to submit ideas for creating, aggregating, managing, distributing and monetizing visual media to anticipate and shape future patterns in the consumption of visual media.
Targeting start-ups as well as established media companies in Singapore, the Call hopes to solicit exciting ideas to enhance consumers' experience of visual media, innovate with tools and devices to allow content to be delivered to a variety of access devices, and create a variety of value-added services such as media (rather than text-based) search, advertising engines, interactive video, customizable interfaces, and next generation advertising engines.
In particular, the Call offers Singapore start-ups a headstart by enabling collaborations with established players to access bigger markets globally, marketing and promotional tie-ups, and sharing of market intelligence.
The submitted proposals will be evaluated by a joint MDA and FutureTV Partner Network Evaluation Panel based on criteria such as innovativeness and market potential. More details of the Call can be found at www.idm.sg
Contact:
Ms Mala Devi Padmanathan
Assistant Manager, Communications
Media Development Authority
Tel: +65 9728 9872
Email: Mala_Devi_PADMANATHAN@mda.gov.sg
Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA)
Topic: Business Plan
Source: Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA)
Sectors: Film & Video, Media & Marketing, IT Individual, Broadcast, Film & Sat
https://www.acnnewswire.com
From the Asia Corporate News Network
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