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Tag: Media Development Authority

  • Fox Formats Lab launches in Singapore to cultivate local production talent

    Fox Formats Lab launches in Singapore to cultivate local production talent

    MUMBAI: Documentary producers in Singapore are set for an opportunity of a lifetime with Fox Formats Lab, the latest initiative between Fox International Channels (FIC) and the Media Development Authority (MDA).

     

    A unique initiative devised by FIC in a first-of-its-kind partnership with MDA, Fox Formats Lab was conceived to support the development of local content production talent and ramp up creation of international TV content by local production companies. The initial phase of the initiative will see content created for the network’s flagship factual entertainment network – National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo Wild and Nat Geo People.

     

    The Fox Formats Lab initiative is a developmental platform aimed at enhancing skills and encouraging knowledge sharing from experienced professionals within FIC’s global network to aspiring local talents. Participants have the opportunity to tap into the global expertise of FIC executives to hone their skills, learn about the factual content development process at NGC, and ultimately better position themselves to work with international broadcasters in the future.

     

    The initiative will kick off with a production workshop in May this year where invited Singapore registered production companies will be presented with a commissioning brief. Interested parties can then submit show concept proposals based on the brief, for the opportunity to be selected to take part in a series of workshops hosted by experienced executives and producers from FIC. These workshops are aimed at helping the participants to develop their ideas into full production proposals.

     

    The process culminates with select proposals being chosen to be developed and produced into a documentary series for NGC, which will be co-funded by FIC and the MDA. The production development funding for Fox Formats Lab totals S$6 million.

     

    NGC International executive vice president and head of international content Hamish Mykura said, “We’re very pleased to be launching this unique initiative, in which production companies will have unprecedented access to our global content development team. By aligning producers with commissioners, the Fox Formats Lab will not only provide a window into how channels operate and what drives our creative decisions, but will also result in new programming that will resonate with a global audience.”

     

    FIC EVP of content & communications for APAC & Middle East Joon Lee added, “FIC and NGC have always believed in creating content at all levels – globally, regionally and locally. There are many local stories to be told in Asia and there’s no better entity to facilitate this storytelling than NGC. With Singapore already a strong hub for content creation and creative talent, we jumped at the opportunity to launch a worthy initiative like Fox Formats Lab with the MDA. We get to invest back into the talent pool as well as gain great locally-developed content for NGC in the process. It’s a win-win for all.”

     

    MDA assistant chief executive (industry) Angeline Poh said, “We are excited to launch this partnership with FIC to deepen Singapore’s factual production talent-pool. Through the Fox Formats Lab initiative, promising producers will be mentored by industry veterans, and also given the opportunity to demonstrate their ability to develop compelling content for international audiences. We look forward to presenting to viewers the innovative formats that will emerge from this initiative.”

  • US$100 million media fund launched at the Singapore Media Festival

    US$100 million media fund launched at the Singapore Media Festival

    MUMBAI: During the Singapore Media Festival, hosted by the Media Development Authority (MDA) of Singapore, a US$100 million media fund was jointly launched to enhance China’s media and entertainment industry.

     

    The memorandum of understanding was signed by three parties namely China film industry tycoon Yu Dong, private equity firm Tembusu founder and chairman of NASDAQ-listed Bona Film, Singapore PE fund Tembusu Partners and local media entrepreneur Calvin Cheng.

     

    Minister for culture, community and youth and the second minister for communications and information, Lawrence Wong was also present at the occasion to witness the launch.

     

    The Singapore-based private equity media fund will be the first such non-reminbi dominated fund to invest in China’s media and entertainment Industry. It will be based in Singapore and will leverage on the country’s legal framework and status as a financial hub to attract investors from and outside the region. The US$100 million closed-end five-year media fund will be formalised on 31 March 2015, with fund raising to begin shortly after. Anchor investors are likely to include Bona Film Group as well as Thailand’s Chia Tai Group. The fund will focus on the Chinese market, home to the fastest growing media industry in the world. It will target media companies, content and technologies as investment targets. The promoters will also promote international cooperation opportunities between China and countries such as Singapore and the United States through co-productions or joint-ventures.

     

    Yu Dong commented, “Singapore is the perfect place to launch this fund as it is not only a financial capital of the world, but also as the place where East meets West. This fund will allow foreign investors to participate in the fastest growing media and entertainment market in the world. China’s media and entertainment industry is forecast to overtake Japan’s by 2018, and become the second-largest in the world, behind only the US. It is already the second-largest film market in the world, and China’s TV industry is set to surpass the UK and Germany by 2016 to also become the second-largest behind the UKThis phenomenal growth in China will create many exciting investment opportunities.”

     

    Tembusu Partners chairman Andy Lim said, “Tembusu Partners is proud to partner Yu Dong and Calvin Cheng in taking advantage of the exciting opportunities of the Chinese media and entertainment industry. Now investors in and outside the region will be able to participate in the exciting growth of this industry.”

     

    Calvin Cheng, who put the deal together, said, “I am excited about the establishment of this fund in Singapore and the boost it will bring to Singapore’s media industry. The existing Film and TV co-production agreement between Singapore and China opens up opportunities for the Fund to invest in projects that involve Singapore-based media companies. In addition, we will be looking at media companies globally that have a ‘China-story’; with the convergence of traditional media with the internet, there will be many exciting new opportunities that will emerge from the vast Chinese landscape, and we will be looking to invest in the best of them. ”

     

     “The establishment of this media fund in Singapore is a testament to the country’s position as a regional centre for the financing, production, management and distribution of compelling content. This fund will create an opportunity for Singapore’s media companies and talent to participate in the fast-growing media market in China,” said MDA assistant chief executive (Industry) Angeline Poh.

     

    “We are glad that the partners have chosen to launch the fund at the Singapore Media Festival (SMF) as we strive to establish SMF as the choice platform in Asia to foster international media partnerships and deals,” she said.