Competitive And
Sustainable Industry
MDA believes that our high-quality local content deserves a broader audience, and continues to promote these stories in several high-profile industry events locally and abroad.
As part of MDA’s market development efforts, MDA led delegations of local media companies to premier trade markets such as the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FILMART), China International Film & TV Programmes Exhibition (CIFTPE), as well as MIPCOM in Cannes.
30 Singapore media companies participated in the 18th edition of the Hong Kong FILMART and showcased more than 190 hours of locally produced content, including films and television programmes at the Singapore Pavilion. MDA also supported 12 Singapore companies attending CIFTPE, a key Chinese trade market for foreign and domestic content held in Beijing from 22 to 24 August 2013. Participating media companies reported expected sales of more than S$12 million and were able to meet new content buyers and explore collaborations with their Chinese counterparts. In addition, MDA led a total of 24 local media companies to attend MIPCOM in Cannes from 6 to 10 October 2013, which resulted in over S$31.52 million of projected sales. The publishing sector also benefited from the Marketing Assistance grant scheme to attend key trade events, with 16 supported companies participating in the Frankfurt Book Fair, and nine supported companies attending the Beijing International Book Fair.
At home in Singapore, the highlight of the 2013 event calendar was the 14th edition of Asian Television Forum, which was held together with ScreenSingapore at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Marina Bay Sands. The two events garnered a record participation of more than 4,300 participants, 1,179 companies from 60 countries, with S$271 million worth of business deals closed, an increase from S$255 million in 2012. From Singapore, more than 80 film, television and animation companies brought over 600 hours of content to the Singapore Pavilion for sale and distribution. The Asian Television Awards (ATA), which was held during the same period, was aired for the first time on both local and regional broadcast platforms1, reaching out to some 28 million households in the region, including Hong Kong, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, as well as the Middle East.
The launch of ATF and ScreenSingapore 2013 was officiated by Minister for Communications and Information, Dr. Yaacob Ibrahim (centre), MDA CEO
Ms. Koh Lin-Net (on left), President (Asia-Pacific), Reed Exhibitions Mr. Paul Beh and Managing Director of Reed Exhibitions Ms. Michelle Lim.
Alongside these events, the ASEAN Film Festival, which was organised by Singapore Film Commission (SFC) and supported by the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI), was held in Singapore from 3 to 6 December 2013. The event showcased eight notable films, including an Oscar-nominated film for the Best Foreign Language award, The Missing Picture from Cambodia, and saw the appearance of five filmmakers from ASEAN Member States at Filmgarde, Bugis+.
Looking ahead, Singaporeans can look forward to a bigger and better film and TV event in Singapore, the Singapore Media Festival, to be launched in December 2014. Our aim is to develop the Singapore Media Festival into a seamless, must-attend annual event where international participants gather to discover the latest trends, talent and content in Asia, making Singapore the choice destination for those in Asia’s media business. It will bring together four complementary film and TV events under a single umbrella - Singapore International Film Festival; Asian Television Awards; Asia TV Forum & Market; and ScreenSingapore. This larger-scale, multi-faceted event will provide more benefits to regional and international trade participants, as well as capitalise on emerging opportunities from Asia’s rise as a major media and entertainment market.
1 These include StarWorld and Channel [V], Fox International Channels’ leading general entertainment and music channels respectively.