SPH, IMDA teaming up for second season of short public service videos

Singapore

SINGAPORE Press Holdings (SPH) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) will again team up to produce a second season of short videos under the authority's Public Service Broadcast initiative.

Senior Minister of State for Communications and Information and Health Chee Hong Tat announced this in Parliament on Tuesday.

The second season of more than 120 videos, each three to 10 minutes long, will be released under 16 titles across infotainment, info-ed and children's programming from May this year to April next year.

The videos will be released across SPH's digital content network, which includes The Straits Times Online, The Business Times Online, Zaobao.sg, STIRR, AsiaOne, STOMP, The New Paper and ZB Schools, as well as the Facebook pages of The Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao, The Business Times, AsiaOne, Lianhe Wanbao, Shin Min, ZB Lifestyle, ZBComma and Thumbs Up.

Season 1, which saw the release of 118 short videos, had very active audience engagement, SPH and IMDA said in a joint press release.

First to launch for the second season will be Heroes Among Us, scheduled to run in May. The fortnightly programme features Singaporeans who help local or regional communities, or who have overcome challenges in their lives, at times with tremendous effort. Through the profiles, viewers also get to see the different communities here and in the region that need help.

Also coming back for a second run is Living City, which explores the relationships between Singaporeans and the spaces they dwell in. Each episode will take the viewer to little-known places in Singapore through the eyes of a narrator showing how each place has influenced his life.

New to Season 2, which will be broadcast in English and Mandarin, are two bilingual children's programmes.

Finding The Red Dot aims to teach children about the history, legends and stories of Singapore through the eyes of a cub reporter. Aged 10 to 12, the reporter will go around Singapore to learn and explore the history and legends behind Singapore's buildings and landmarks.

Another bilingual series, Past Present Future, will enable children to explore, learn and research by themselves how older forms of technology have advanced in the present, and imagine their evolution in the future.

Ng Yat Chung, SPH chief executive, said the company is committed to constant engagement of the growing segment of digital content consumers.

Tan Kiat How, IMDA chief executive, expressed his wish that through continued collaboration, "Singaporean audiences will continue to support and appreciate our local content and stories".