MediaCorp celebrates 50 years of television

SINGAPORE: Singaporean broadcaster MediaCorp is celebrating its golden jubilee, with 50 years of television under its belt.

Highlights include special programmes on each channel that allow audiences to enjoy a new experience while viewing television content, via multi—platform, second screen and on—ground vehicles.

There will also be roadshows in May and a charity special in September.

The local and regional news station, Channel NewsAsia, will delve into a unique documentary covering 50 years of news that captivated audiences.

The documentary, News@50, will let viewers decide on content, by getting them to choose their top news stories.

The year—long jubilee will culminate in a grand variety countdown special on New Year’s Eve.

MediaCorp CEO Shaun Seow said: "Singapore television has come a long way from its pilot service 50 years ago. It transited to colour in the 1970s, and to the digital form we know today —— consumed as much on the TV set in the living room as on the go.

"Its content has also evolved, reflecting the mores of the times and telling the story of our nation building.

"As we celebrate this milestone anniversary, we want to thank all our viewers who’ve grown up with us, cried with us, laughed with us. We’re also reaching out to a new generation of viewers who want to be engaged via social media.

"Whatever the form, we will strive to innovate and improve ourselves so that MediaCorp continues to be an integral part of the lives of Singaporeans."

On 15 February 1963, thousands gathered at public places in Singapore to watch a special one—and—a—half hour broadcast, for the first time. Included in that broadcast were a documentary and a news segment.

Since then, television has moved from black—and—white to colour, then to digital, and now to mobile technology.

Mr Seow said: "What we want to do is to really engage a new generation of viewers who want to interact with us, who want to do a lot of social media.

"So there must be ways and means in which we make our content a lot more engaging, a lot more exciting to these viewers, and we certainly would be very responsive to what they want, and innovating to make sure that we stay exciting all the time."

Professor Emeritus Eddie Kuo from Nanyang Technological University’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information said: "Whether in future we still call it TV, or we call it something else, it’s likely to be convergence, and a combination of different formats of images; different content presented in different ways."

While the need to keep up with technology on multiple platforms is important, Mr Seow added that content has always been, and will still be king.

Mr Seow said: "Technology is just one part of it, it just basically enables consumption to be on multiple devices at any time. At the heart of it all is still going to be great content. As long as your content is relevant, as long as your content is engaging, I think we will be sufficiently busy keeping our audiences happy."

— CNA/ck/xq