2006 was a watershed year for the media world, which was defined by several revolutionary developments. The advent of Web 2.0 saw the spectacular rise of user-generated content and social networking communities, prompting Time magazine to pick "you", the individual prosumer (i.e. producer-consumer) as its Person of the Year. Cashing in on the phenomenon, the popular video sharing site YouTube, was sold to Google for a staggering US$1.65 billion. As testament to the new power dynamics in the new media landscape, Google's market value of US$144 billion topped that of Time Warner, Viacom, CBS advertising agency Publicis Groupe and the New York Times Co. combined, according to a Business Week report.

As the global media landscape evolves, Singapore's media industry is gearing up to capture the growth opportunities in the new media arena. In 2006, Interactive Digital Media (IDM) was identified as a new growth engine for Singapore's economy. To support Singapore's long-term vision of growing into a global IDM capital, the National Research Foundation allocated S$500 million over five years to fund the development of a strategic IDM research programme. A multi-agency IDM Research and Development Programme Office was set up within MDA in August 2006 to co-ordinate the cross-disciplinary strategic programme.

Singapore is also positioning itself as the first mover in digital technology development and deployment. The year 2006 saw the roll out of High-Definition Television trials across the terrestrial, cable and Internet protocol platforms. The trials climaxed in January 2007 with the commercial launch of two cable channels, making Singapore the first Southeast-Asian country to introduce commercial services. Singapore also became the first country in the world to launch subscription digital radio when Rediffusion unveiled a slate of Digital Audio Broadcasting channels in July 2006.

In 2006, we also witnessed more international collaborations, greater export of Made-by-Singapore content and magnified international visibility. After a year of preparation involving industry partners, we launched Singapore Media Fusion, a strategic positioning to communicate and promote our industry's capabilities in the age of media convergence and the country's rich blend of diverse cultures. The brand positioning was complemented by an advertising campaign featuring international media icons who have participated in Singapore co-productions with the tagline "I Made It in Singapore". Launched in Cannes, France during MIPCOM in October 2006, Singapore Media Fusion was subsequently rolled out at other trade shows, raising the international profile of Singapore's media industry remarkably.

Back home, our major tradeshows BroadcastAsia and Asia Media Festival continued to grow, further bolstering Singapore's position as a media exchange. The former attracted a record high of 847 exhibitors and 16,835 visitors, while the latter registered a record transaction revenue totalling US$47.1 million.

In providing Singaporeans with greater choice and diversity of content, new businesses were encouraged through a facilitative regulatory framework, and at the same time, quality Public Service Broadcast programmes continued to be produced. The year also saw the roll out of real-time subtitling during news bulletins on three free-to-air television channels to increase the accessibility of local news programmes. In preparing Singaporeans to embrace the new media age, a year-round public outreach initiative, MediAction!, was started to equip more Singaporeans with media literacy skills.

The results achieved in 2006 have undoubtedly strengthened Singapore's positioning as a Global Media City. Charging ahead in the new media landscape, MDA is working on a sharpened Media 21 plan - Media Fusion 2015 - that plans to increase the media industry's value-added contribution to S$10 billion and create 10,000 jobs by 2015. Media Fusion 2015 is geared to propel Singapore's media industry forward in the digital age, as part of the creative economy and aligned with the growth formula of World Singapore.

In noting a year of good progress, I would like to thank our partners and collaborators in the media industry for a year of seamless connectivity, knowledge transfer and integration. I would also like to take this opportunity to express my deepest appreciation to our retired board members for their significant contributions in the past two years, and my heartiest welcome to our new board members who joined us on 1 January 2007. My heartfelt thanks also to the staff of MDA for their hard work.

Now, plug in and enjoy the exciting new media landscape!


DR TAN CHIN NAM
Chairman
Media Development Authority