25 February 2014
Channel NewsAsia, covering the news and helping the region understand Asia for the past 15 years, launches its Corporate Social Responsibility programme during its annual Luminary Awards Gala at the Fullerton Hotel in Singapore.
Over the last year, the channel re-launched with 24-hour “live” news reporting, and increased production of original content by over 30 percent with focus on current affairs, analysis and documentaries. The channel has moved aggressively into the digital space with mobile applications and interfaces with smartphones for the on-the-go Asian consumer. A Chinese SMS language service was launched and the channel continues to work on improving accessibility, speed to market, and is developing apps for the next generation Smart TVs.
For the coming year, the channel will launch a slew of initiatives to take on challenges in a diverse and very dynamic market. It will continue to focus on building its programming, and roll out the slate of changes in the next few months for its flagship news programmes and launch programming initiatives to support its CSR plan.
Starting with the morning show, AM Live!, the new format will take in fresh segments that explore for the viewers the latest trends around Asia, in property, food, motoring, health, luxury lifestyle and travel. These will provide opportunities for businesses around the region to work with the channel to reach the affluent Asian consumer. It will continue to have a business focus with daily “live” crosses to its bureaus in the region so viewers get a first-hand update of the Business Day across Asia.
- To further improve its business coverage, there will be more business reports spread throughout the day, increasing the number of hours of market updates across Asia per day, and more hours of business news in its prime time programmes.
- To improve depth of coverage in the daily news cycle, a daily analysis show called Between the Lines will give the story behind the headlines.
- And for viewers who want to understand Singapore better, the current half hour Singapore Tonight, will become a full-hour programme, incorporating the key happenings in the Singapore market and business world.
A series of specials will be committed to initiatives to support the advancement of Women in Asia, in line with the channels’ brand promise to be the “Voice of Asian Progress”. Beyond merely being a Voice – the channel aims to go a step further and promote “Progress in Asia” – improving the lives of Asians via infrastructure and connectivity for local communities.
The focus on women centres around the fact that while they represent nearly half the population in Asia, their voices often go unheard. In many parts of Asia, women still do not have equal opportunities to education, nor are they treated on par in the legal system. The channel aims to use its reach of 50 million across Asia to bring attention to not only the issues, but also the success of women in Asia. It will work with corporate partners to promote awareness of the issues, especially to improve access to infrastructure and technologies.
Ms Debra Soon, Managing Director of Channel NewsAsia comments, “The channel is still young, at 15 years old, we are a baby when compared with other international broadcasters in terms of viewership in Asia. We have worked hard to improve our programming and content over the last year so as to stay abreast and sometimes ahead of the competition, but it’s also time to seriously think about where we are, why we exist and how we can go beyond our business to do something lasting for communities in Asia. We will raise issues about access, talk about uncomfortable things such as the issue of rape and violence against women, gender bias, and also talk about progress and positivity, feature successful role models in business and society.” More details on the CSR programme and projects will be revealed throughout the coming year.
On the business front, the channel took its series of regional seminars called, Business Insights, to different cities starting with Jakarta, Bangkok and Yangon. These seminars will continue to travel to key Asian cities throughout the year and provide opportunities for corporates to join us and tap on the opportunities presented in the gatherings of captains of industry, think-tanks and governments.
It is significant that Channel NewsAsia marks its 15th anniversary at its most prominent event, the Luminary Awards, where it honours some of the best business practitioners. The highest honour of Lifetime Achievement Award for 2014 is bestowed on Mr John L. Gokongwei Jr, Founder and Chairman Emeritus of JG Summit Holdings in the Philippines. His personal life story of overcoming adversity and his exemplary entrepreneurial spirit of achieving great success is one which resonates with the channel and will serve as an inspiration to Asians.
At the Gala, three other awards – Innovation, Green and Future Luminary Awards – will be presented to outstanding businesses and individuals. The recipients had undergone a stringent selection process before being shortlisted and evaluated by a distinguished jury panel of renowned management strategists, academics and corporate personalities. (Please see Annex 1 for details). In conjunction with the Luminary Awards, the Leadership Forum gathers key corporate leaders to share their business insights on the theme of driving growth in a global landscape, focusing on innovative and sustainable leadership. Luminary Leadership Forum 2014 is moderated by Channel NewsAsia’s Teymoor Nabili. (Please see Annex 2 for details). The Awards Gala Dinner will be recorded and telecast on Channel NewsAsia on 28 February 2014, 8-9pm (SIN/HK/MNL time) and the Leadership Forum will be shown on 4 March 2014, 11.30pm (SIN/HK/MNL time).
(Source: Channel NewsAsia press release)
23 January 2014
Regional broadcaster, Channel NewsAsia, celebrates the official opening today of its news bureau in Yangon, Myanmar, making it the channel’s 13th dedicated bureau in Southeast and East Asia. The office in Yangon follows on the heels of the launch of the Mumbai bureau in January 2013 in India.
The channel’s correspondent, May Wong, based in Yangon, will report from the ground with credibility and authenticity, to capture the developments in Myanmar as it opens up after half a century of isolation. This is also a significant year as the country assumes the ASEAN Chair for the first time. A broadcast journalist with 17 years of experience, May Wong has been filing stories from Myanmar since a year ago. In the more recent events, the channel was able to give regional viewers a close up on the astounding Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar and the just-concluded ASEAN Ministerial Meeting. On the business front, she provided insights on plans to set up the country’s first stock exchange, and its strategies to grow the aviation sector and to build a new airport to meet rising air passenger traffic.
Supporting these reports, the channel has, over the past few years, had several exclusive interviews about Myanmar. This included President Thein Sein’s first international television interview in July 2012, and when Speaker of Parliament, Thura U Shwe Mann, was in Singapore in September that year. It produced a 6 part series called “The New Myanmar” last year, and several other documentaries on the developments in the country.
Ms Debra Soon, Managing Director of Channel NewsAsia comments, “We have stepped up not only our news coverage, but our documentaries and programmes on Myanmar in the past few years. Today, we are adding another thrust to our engagement with Myanmar with a regional business seminar. This provides a platform for political and business leaders to understand more about the changing face of Myanmar. It’s a formula which we are replicating across Asia, improving our coverage within the region through news and current affairs, and making connections to the movers and shakers across Asia.”
Just a year ago in January 2013, the channel increased its broadcast time, reporting “live” for 24 hours. It opened a satellite studio in Singapore’s new upmarket Marina Bay Financial Centre that signalled its increased business programming, whilst it improved its Asian overnight coverage of financial markets in the United States and Europe. Its focus to deliver high end documentaries and content on Asia will tell the story of the region’s progress, dynamism and challenges.
As a continuing commitment to bring better understanding of Asia, Channel NewsAsia has brought its series of regional seminars for today’s official opening. The seminar, Business Insights – Understanding the Changing Myanmar, gathers think tanks, captains of industries and government leaders to discuss how business communities can achieve success and contribute to sustainable development and to deliver value to the people. The event is held at the Sedona Hotel in Yangon with official venue partner, Keppel Land.
The panel discussion will be facilitated by Channel NewsAsia’s award-winning Presenter, Teymoor Nabili. It includes Dr Muang Muang Lay, Vice President of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), Mr Kanthan Shankar, Country Manager, East Asia & Pacific of The World Bank Group, Mr Melvyn Pun, CEO, Serge Pun & Associates (Myanmar) or SPA (Myanmar), Associate Professor Simon Tay, Chairman of Singapore Institute of International Affairs, and Mr William Greenlee, Jr., Partner/Deputy Managing Director, DFDL, Myanmar.
26 March 2013
Leaders of key global businesses are converging in Singapore on 26 March 2013 to share strategies at the first Channel NewsAsia Luminary Leadership Forum. The event is a meeting of minds of top industry and thought leaders and practitioners to share advice on innovative solutions to overcome complex market challenges.
They will be addressing an invitation-only delegation of international executives at the Fullerton Hotel. Teymoor Nabili, veteran journalist and host of Channel NewsAsia’s flagship programme, Business Central, will facilitate the two sessions with influential leaders on the panels.
Leadership Forum Panel Members
The Speakers will deliberate on Making the Case for Change. Eminent panellists include Mr Manoj Menon, Partner and Asia Pacific Managing Director of Frost and Sullivan, Mr Emirsyah Satar, President and CEO of Garuda Indonesia, Mr Johan Nyvene, Chief Executive Officer of Hochiminh City Securities Corporation, Mr Valerio Nannini, Managing Director of Nestle Singapore and Professor Arnoud De Meyer, President of the Singapore Management University.
The second session will look into Going Green: Innovative Solutions. The panellists are Ms Aida Greenbury, Managing Director of Sustainability and Stakeholder Engagement of Asia Pulp & Paper Group, Mr Dean Draper, Managing Director of the Asean sub-region of BASF, Mr Joshua Soh, Managing Director of CISCO (Singapore and Brunei), Mr Budiarsa Sastrawinata, Managing Director of Ciputra Group and President of International Urban Development Association (INTA) and Mr Philippe Arsonneau, Senior Vice President of Schneider Electric (Asia Pacific and Japan).
Ms Debra Soon, Managing Director of Channel NewsAsia said, “We’re privileged to have these very experienced practitioners bring us up to date on best practices in an interactive and open discussion. Their valuable experiences make compelling case studies, whether it is about making changes or turning a business burden into profit. The channel’s forte is in presenting a better understanding of Asia, and this platform we provide is part of its contribution to raising the intellectual capital across industries and cultures in Asia.”
Luminary Awards Gala Dinner
The Leadership Forum is organised alongside the channel’s premier Luminary Awards Gala, held on the same evening on 26 March 2013 at the Fullerton Hotel. The Luminary Awards recognises the success stories in entrepreneurship, and this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award is conferred on Dr Hc. Ir. Ciputra, Founder and Chairman of the Ciputra Group in Indonesia. Dr Ciputra is a prominent tycoon in the country’s property business for more than 40 years. He will share his insights on entrepreneurship at the Awards Gala Dinner. The dialogue will be recorded for a special programme to be telecast later on Channel NewsAsia.
The honours in the other three categories – the Innovation, Green and Future Business Luminary Awards – are firms and individuals who represent the pillars of Asia’s economic development in the areas of innovation, environmental sustainability and entrepreneurial spirit and leadership. They were selected from a field of highly qualified potentials after being scrutinised by an illustrious jury panel.
A member of the jury, Mr Valerio Nannini, Managing Director of Nestle Singapore Pte Ltd, commented, “I think it should inspire other people that are looking to the Luminary Awards, to try to do their best and improve themselves.”
The Awards will be announced at the Gala Dinner attended by more than 200 business leaders and top executives from different quarters of society.
21 January 2013
Regional broadcaster, Channel NewsAsia, opens the year with “live” news 24/7, a new look and new programmes to help viewers better “Understand Asia”.
The ambitious expansion plan encompasses significant boosts to its programming line-up, and investments in new bureaus and facilities across Asia. This will enable the channel to produce more original content and news stories for the additional hours of “live” broadcasting, 24 hours a day, up from the current 20 hours.
Channel NewsAsia’s Managing Director, Ms Debra Soon says, “As the locus of the world economy shifts towards Asia, we believe we are well-positioned to deliver what we’ve been doing daily since 1999, and help audiences around the world better Understand Asia. We have made substantial investments to provide more business content about Asia, from Asia. We intend to increase our lead in covering South East Asia better than other broadcasters operating here, and we will cover South Asia better. This is all part of the drive to deliver insightful documentaries and programmes for viewers, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
Channel NewsAsia’s relaunch was celebrated with a Champagne Lunch today with the channel’s partners and friends at its new Marina Bay Studio. Simultaneous parties were also held in Mumbai, India and Hong Kong to mark this milestone occasion.
Increased news & business content and documentaries
The channel is meeting its competitors head-on in the 24-hour news cycle. Business news at prime time is more than doubled. A new one-hour financial programme, Business Central, airs at 8pm. It will feature key stories from the region’s financial hubs – Singapore, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Shanghai – and give viewers insights into daily developments in other key world financial centres, from our bureaus in London and New York.
Day-time market reports and key interviews will be conducted out of Channel NewsAsia’s latest facility in the Marina Bay Financial Centre, at the heart of Singapore’s new financial district. The Marina Bay Studio will be featured during a new one-hour lunchtime show, Asia Connect, which will bring together the market action from every trading day in Mumbai, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore and keep viewers on the pulse of Asia. This state-of-the-art studio is a result of the collaboration with leading bank in Asia, DBS Bank.
News content is increased by more than one-third. A daily additional newsbelt called News Pulse, from 12mn to 6am, tracks world developments overnight for Asia, with breaking news from the US and Europe. This will be followed by a new start to Asia’s day, with First Look Asia, from 6am.
With a line-up of new programmes interspersed throughout the channel, viewers are given an uninterrupted flow of news through the day:
(1) First Look Asia – 6am to 7am
(2) News Now – 9am, 10am, 11am, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 5pm
(3) Asia Connect – 12noon to 1pm
(4) Singapore Connect @ 6 – 6pm (Only on Channel NewsAsia, Singapore)
(5) Business Central – 8pm to 9pm
(6) Business Singapore – 10:30pm
(7) News Pulse – 12mn, 1am, 2am, 3am, 5am
Beyond the news, Channel NewsAsia is raising the depth of content about Asia with nearly 30 percent more hours of current affairs programmes focused on the dynamism and progress of Asia. An example is Power List Asia, which looks at the core of Asian success stories through interviews with top CEOs and tycoons; Extraordinary Asians profiles the exceptional Asians who inspire the community by contributing in extraordinary ways; and Boomtown Asia offers a preview of what Asian cities of the future might look like and what is being done now to help make existing cities sustainable, liveable and future-proof. [Please refer to Annex 2 for synopses of more upcoming current affairs programmes and documentaries.]
New branding & on-air look
The launch is marked by the channel’s new branding and on-air look. “To be the Voice of Asian Progress” describes Channel NewsAsia’s unique positioning of capturing the exclusive stories unfolding in the region in all its diversity. The fresh graphics and colours reflect the channel’s celebration of the dynamism and energy in Asia, while the channel will stay true to its mission of helping viewers “Understand Asia”.
All platforms
In such a dynamic environment, consumers would expect to have information whenever and wherever they are. Channel NewsAsia is already available via the iPhone, iPad and Android Apps. Its Android App will have enhanced features when relaunched later this year. The channel is also streamed “live” on both Channel NewsAsia (url: channelnewsasia.com ) and Livestation
(url: livestation.com/en/cna_en) websites. It has entered into a strategic partnership with YouTube to provide even better quality services for viewers.
Marketing initiatives
On the marketing front, Channel NewsAsia has launched a series of initiatives in the region, such as the partnership for the CEO World Forum held in Ho Chi Minh City on 11 January 2013. In March 2013, the channel is taking its discussion programme, Perspectives, on the road in Jakarta. To be recorded on location “live”, a high-level panel has been invited to discuss the topic of “Indonesia Rising”. Speakers include Dr. M. Chatib Basri, Chairman of Indonesia’s Investment
Coordinating Board; Emirsyah Satar, President and CEO of Garuda Indonesia; Stefan Koeberle, the World Bank’s Country Director for
Indonesia and Karen Agustiawan, President Director and CEO of Indonesia’s Pertamina. The channel will launch more of such initiatives, like the Luminary Awards Forum in Singapore at the end of March.
28 August 2012
Regional broadcaster, Channel NewsAsia has extended its distribution to Myanmar with its latest signing for carriage with Pay TV operator, Sky Net.
MediaCorp’s Channel NewsAsia signed an agreement in Yangon today with Shwe Than Lwin Media Co. Ltd, which owns Sky Net, a Direct-to-Home (DTH) and Multiplay Service (MPS) provider, with more than 40 local and international channels. The signing ceremony, held at the Chatrium Hotel, was attended by MediaCorp CEO, Mr Shaun Seow, Deputy CEO, Mr Chang Long Jong, Singapore’s Ambassador to Myanmar, His Excellency Mr Robert Chua and Shwe Than Lwin Media’s Chairman, Mr U Kyaw Win. Also in attendance were members of the diplomatic corp and government officials.
Channel NewsAsia’s Managing Director, Ms Debra Soon says, “With Myanmar opening its doors to the world, Channel NewsAsia is privileged to be able to share its unique offering of news and information programmes with the people in Myanmar. As we gear up to take Channel NewsAsia “live” 24 hours from January 2013, we would be reporting even more out of the region. Over the past decade, the channel has been documenting all that is significant in Asia. Being a voice in Myanmar is a step in the right direction. As we embark on the next phase of our growth, we are delighted to partner Sky Net for an important sector in Myanmar.”
Channel NewsAsia will be carried on Sky Net’s Channels 40 and 20 of its DTH and IPTV platforms respectively.
Channel NewsAsia is also available on Forever Group’s MRTV- 4 International platform in Myanmar.
