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On 1 March 1999, TCS launched
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mediacorp 1937 establishments in the Straits Settlements Temasek Holdings Magazine publishing companies Newspaper companies of Singapore Mass media companies established in 1937 Mass media companies of Singapore Government-owned companies of Singapore Multilingual broadcasters Singaporean brands
Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a
(BBC). During World War II, Japanese Imperial Army occupy Singapore from 1942 to 1945 and the radio station on the island of Singapore was seized by the Japanese authorities and renamed Syonan Hoso Kyoku ('Light of the South' Broadcasting Corporation), the local counterpart to the media conglomerate
A media conglomerate, media group, or media institution is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as music, television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, theme parks, or the Internet. According t ...
in Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
. Owned by Temasek Holdings
Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited, or simply Temasek, is a Singaporean state holding company owned by the Government of Singapore. Incorporated on 25 June 1974, Temasek owns and manages a total of US$496.59 billion (S$671 billion) in assets u ...
—the holding company of the Government of Singapore
The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of Singapore to mean the executive branch of the state, which is made up of the president and the Cabinet. Although the president acts in their personal discretion in the exercis ...
—it owns television, radio, and digital media properties in the country.
Mediacorp forms one half of the mass media
Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets.
Broadcast media transmit informati ...
duopoly
A duopoly (from Greek δύο, ''duo'' "two" and πωλεῖν, ''polein'' "to sell") is a type of oligopoly where two firms have dominant or exclusive control over a market. It is the most commonly studied form of oligopoly due to its simplicit ...
in the country, alongside SPH Media Trust. Its logo is the geometric M with rainbow palette.
History
1925–1965: Pre-independence era
Radio broadcasting
The history of radio broadcasting in Singapore began with the formation of the Amateur Wireless Society of Malaya (AWSM) in April 1925, which launched shortwave transmission from a studio in the Union Building at Collyer Quay using a 100-watt transmitter lent by theMarconi Company
The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company that did business under that name from 1963 to 1987. Its roots were in the Wireless Telegraph & Signal Company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 189 ...
under callsign 1SE (One Singapore Experimental). The transmissions could be received from as far as Penang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the M ...
, albeit with atmospheric interferences at times. In 1930, Sir Earl from the Singapore Port Authority commenced its short wave broadcast every fortnight either on Sundays or Wednesdays. The Empire Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was inaugurated in December 1932, which expanded the array of programmes available for resident listeners. In 1933, Radio ZHI was launched as the first professional shortwave broadcasting station in Singapore. Owned by the Radio Service Company of Malaya, it was a shortwave radio station that delivered static-free broadcasts. Throughout its history, Radio ZHI acquired a loyal following in Singapore and abroad. Despite its success, the station closed in 1936 when its licence expired. British Malaya Broadcasting Corporation was formed on 21 July 1935 and awarded a broadcasting license by the British crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
on 1 June 1936 as a radio network. On 1 March 1937 at 6pm, its studios and transmitters at Caldecott Hill
Caldecott Hill is a private housing estate, located along Thomson Road in the Central Region of Singapore. It is tied to the growth of the media industry in Singapore.
In the past, Singapore's broadcast station, Mediacorp was located there. Th ...
was officially opened by Governor of the Straits Settlements
The governor of the Straits Settlements was appointed by the British East India Company until 1867, when the Straits Settlements became a Crown colony. Thereafter the governor was appointed by the Colonial Office. The position existed from 1826 ...
Shenton Thomas.
The corporation was taken over by the Straits Settlements
The Straits Settlements were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Singapore for more than a century, it was originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Com ...
government in 1940 as a part of the British Department of Information, subsequently nationalised and reorganised as the Malaya Broadcasting Corporation, the local counterpart to the British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...Japan Broadcasting Corporation
, also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee.
NHK operates two terrestria ...
(NHK). After the war, the British came back into power and reclaimed the radio station, with the station managed by the interim government – British Military Administration (BMA).
On 1 April 1946, Radio Malaya Singapore and the Federation of Malaya (RMSFOM; or Radio Malaya), a short- and mediumwave service, was established in Singapore. Radio news and information, as well as local entertainment, were aired on its stations in English and later Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language ...
and Malay. On the basis of the Radio Malaya broadcasters that moved to Kuala Lumpur in 1958, Radio Singapura took over on 4 January 1959 as the radio service for Singapore, organised into a station each for English, Malay and Mandarin listeners, plus a blocktime slot for Tamil speakers. When Singapore joined Malaysia on 16 September 1963, Radio Singapura's stations became part of Radio Malaysia and rebranded as "Radio Malaysia (Singapura)".
Television broadcasting
Shortly after Singapore reached self-government status on 3 June 1959, there were plans to obtain television transmission rights. This manifested the founding of Television Singapura on 4 April 1961. ''Television Singapura'' aired test broadcasts on channel 5 from 21 January to 15 February 1963, ahead of its first official pilot broadcast on the evening of 15 February 1963. Minister for CultureS. Rajaratnam
Sinnathamby Rajaratnam ( ta, சின்னத்தம்பி ராஜரத்னம்; 25 February 1915 – 22 February 2006), better known as S. Rajaratnam, was a Singaporean politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of Singapo ...
became the first person to appear on Singapore TV, announcing that "Tonight might well mark the start of a social and cultural revolution in our lives." The first programme aired was a documentary, ''TV Looks at Singapore''. The pilot service would broadcast for one hour and 40 minutes nightly; at the time, it was estimated that only one in 58 Singaporeans owned a television.
On 2 April 1963, Channel 5 was officially inaugurated by President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Yusof Ishak; the service expanded to 7:15 to 11:00 p.m. nightly. By September, its broadcast day had been lengthened to begin at 6:30 p.m. Initially, Channel 5 carried programmes in all four of Singapore's official languages. On 23 November, Channel 8 launched to carry programming in Chinese and Tamil, with Channel 5 focusing on English and Malay programming thereafter.
In January 1964, Television Singapura became the state branch of the new Televisyen Malaysia from Kuala Lumpur and was subsequently rebranded as sister channel "Television Malaysia (Singapura)". During its time as part of Malaysia, Singapore, like its three other partners–Sabah, Sarawak and Malaya had its own radio network, but Singapore was the only state to have its own television network. The state's radio and television broadcast right was included as an annex in the Malaysia Agreement which garnered autonomy in this area, among others.
1965–1980: Radio Television Singapore
After the separation of Singapore from the Malaysian federation, all of the Malaysian television and radio operations in Singapore were fused to become Radio Television Singapore (RTS), a part of the Ministry of Culture. This led to the expansions of the network, including a move to the new $3.6 million Television Centre in Caldecott Hill on 27 August 1966. On 7 July 1974, Channel 5 broadcast the first programme incolour
Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
on Singaporean television, the 1974 FIFA World Cup Final. The following month on 9 August, the ninth National Day Parade
The National Day Parade (NDP) is an annual parade held in Singapore to commemorate its independence. Held annually on 9 August, it is the main public celebration of National Day, consists of a parade incorporating contingents of the Singapore ...
marked the first domestic colour broadcast in Singapore. Full-time colour broadcasts began on 1 November 1977.
1980–1994: Singapore Broadcasting Corporation
The government officially dissolved RTS on 31 January 1980 and transferred its assets to the then-new Singapore Broadcasting Corporation, a statutory board under national supervision to free RTS from the administrative and budgetary constraints that had hampered its ability to upgrade broadcasting services to meet the growing expectations of local audiences. On 31 January 1984, SBC launched Channel 12, a new television service devoted to cultural programming. It also launched four radio stations: "Perfect 10", "YES" (airing Mandarin music), "Ria" (airing popular Malay music) and "Class 95" (initially airing classic hits). SBC began stereo broadcasting on its television channels on 1 August 1990. An educational programming block known as CDIS (Curriculum Development Institute of Singapore) began airing on Channel 12 on 4 January 1993 produced by the Ministry of Education for SBC in response to Malaysia's TV Pendidikan and the then Indonesian TPI blocktime service on TVRI. On 1 February of that year, SBC celebrated its 30 years of television broadcasting. On 7 June that year, Channel 8 expanded its airtime, now broadcasting from 3:00 p.m. on weekdays. On 1 December that year, SBC launched a satellite television network named Singapore International Television (SITV). On 1 January 1994, Channel 5 moved its remaining Malay programming to Channel 12, and re-launched as an English-language channel. Radio Singapore International (RSI) was launched on 1 February 1994 as the official radio international broadcasting company in Singapore, airing news and current affairs, lifestyle, and music programming in English, Malay, Mandarin and Indonesian.1994–1999: Privatisation
On 1 October 1994, SBC was privatised into a new holding company, Singapore International Media (SIM), with three business units: Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS), Radio Corporation of Singapore (RCS), and Television Twelve (TV12). On 1 September 1995, Channel 8 expanded into a 24-hour network focusing exclusively on Mandarin-language programmes, while its Tamil programming was assumed by Prime 12—a relaunch of Channel 12 which focused on multilingual programming. TV12 also launched a spin-off channel known as Premiere 12, which featured arts, culture, documentaries, children's, and sports programmes. TCS launched its own film production studioRaintree Pictures
Mediacorp Raintree Pictures () was a film production company based in Singapore. The company, a division of Mediacorp Group, was established on 1 August 1998. It produced the Singaporean comedy, '' Liang Po Po: The Movie'' featuring the cross-dres ...
on 1 August 1998.
1999–2015: Media Corporation of Singapore
On 1 March 1999, TCS launched Channel NewsAsia
CNA (stylised as cna), which is an acronym derived from its previous name, Channel NewsAsia, is a Singaporean multinational news channel owned by the country's national public broadcaster Mediacorp. It broadcasts free-to-air domestically in Si ...
(CNA), a local news channel
News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either produced locally in a radio studio or tele ...
. On 15 June that year, the Singapore International Media group of companies restructured into MediaCorp.
On 30 January 2000, Prime 12 and Premiere 12 were renamed Suria and Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
respectively; Suria would be a Malay-language channel, while Central would be divided into three dayparted blocks under the brands "Kids Central" (children's programming), "Vasantham Central" (Tamil-language programming), and "Arts Central". SportCity, a sports channel, was also launched the same year. In September 2000, CNA launched an international feed, intending to expand the service into a pan-Asian network. On 10 November, ''Today'' was launched as a free newspaper
Free newspapers are distributed free of charge, often in central places in cities and towns, on public transport, with other newspapers, or separately door-to-door. The revenues of such newspapers are based on advertising. They are published at ...
to compete with Singapore Press Holdings
Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SPHL) was an organisation with businesses in property and aged care in Singapore. Since its takeover by Cuscaden Peak in 2022, it has been renamed Cuscaden Peak Investments.
Prior to 1 December 2021, SPHL was i ...
. The newspaper was owned by MediaCorp, together with SingTel
Singapore Telecommunications Limited, commonly known as Singtel, is a Singaporean telecommunications conglomerate and one of the four major telcos operating in the country. The company is the largest mobile network operator in Singapore with ...
and SMRT, with DelGro pulling out two days earlier.
On 12 February 2001, the Television Corporation of Singapore, Radio Corporation of Singapore and Singapore Television Twelve were renamed to Mediacorp TV, Mediacorp Radio, Mediacorp TV12 respectively as part of a new management plan following their dissolution.
MediaCorp's monopoly on free-to-air television was broken in May 2001, when the Singapore government granted new free-to-air licenses to SPH MediaWorks
SPH MediaWorks Ltd () was a free-to-air terrestrial television broadcaster in Singapore that operated two television channels: Channel U and Channel i. It merged with the city-state's long-established broadcasting company, Mediacorp, in 2004.
...
, a subsidiary of publisher Singapore Press Holdings
Singapore Press Holdings Limited (SPHL) was an organisation with businesses in property and aged care in Singapore. Since its takeover by Cuscaden Peak in 2022, it has been renamed Cuscaden Peak Investments.
Prior to 1 December 2021, SPHL was i ...
. The company launched two channels in English and Chinese respectively, TVWorks (later Channel i
Channel i ( bn, চ্যানেল আই) is a Bangladeshi Bengali-language satellite and cable television channel owned by Impress Group. It was launched on 1 October 1999, as Bangladesh's first digital television channel. It is one of the ...
) and Channel U. In late-2004, citing financial issues and a small market for English-language programmes, SPH sold the channels to Mediacorp; Channel i was shut down on 1 January 2005, while Channel U continued as a complement to Channel 8.
On 11 November 2007, Mediacorp launched HD5, the first high definition television channel in Singapore. In August 2008, MediaCorp also launched MOBTV, an online television service. On 19 October 2008, Central was dissolved, with Vasantham
''Vasantam'' () is a 2003 Indian Telugu-language drama film produced by N.V.Prasad & Sanam Naga Ashok kumar on Sri Sai Deva Productions banner, directed by Vikraman. Starring Venkatesh, Arti Agarwal, Kalyani and music is composed by S. A. Raj ...
becoming a full-time service in its channel space, and its children's and arts programming spun out into the new channel Okto in Channel i's channel space.
Owing to the diminished effectiveness of a shortwave radio service over time with changing technology and media consumption habits, RSI was dissolved on 31 October 2008.
2015–present: New headquarters, transition to digital
On 8 December 2015, Mediacorp officially opened a new headquarters atone-north
One-north (stylized as one-north) is a subzone of Queenstown, Singapore, first developed by JTC Corporation as the country's research and development and high technology cluster. It was first conceptualised in 1991 as part of the National Te ...
's Mediapolis development. The 12-storey complex was designed by DP Architects
DP Architects Pvt. Ltd. is a Singaporean multinational architectural industrial design firm. It started as Design Partnership in 1967 and was incorporated as a private limited company in 1993. It is a multi-disciplinary design consultancy. It i ...
and Maki and Associates and features a "fenceless" design with four studios, a 1,500-seat "broadcast-ready" theatre, and an integrated multi-platform newsroom. The company expected to complete the migration from its previous Caldecott Hill
Caldecott Hill is a private housing estate, located along Thomson Road in the Central Region of Singapore. It is tied to the growth of the media industry in Singapore.
In the past, Singapore's broadcast station, Mediacorp was located there. Th ...
facilities by July 2016. Alongside the new headquarters, Mediacorp also unveiled a new logo – the geometric M with rainbow palette, which was designed to reflect the broadcaster's "vibrancy" and "multiplicity", acting as an "a window to the world and a reflection of life".
In April 2017, the weekend editions of its newspaper ''Today'' went digital and in September 2017, ''Today'' came fully digital and ceased print publication. In September 2018, magazines ''8 Days'' and ''i-Weekly'' ceased print publications and went solely on their digital platforms.
At midnight on 2 January 2019, Mediacorp's analogue television signals signed off, completing Singapore's transition to digital terrestrial television.
On 1 May 2019, Okto was discontinued as a standalone channel, with its children's programming becoming a daytime block on Channel 5 under the ''Okto on 5'' branding. Okto's sports programming was moved primarily to other Mediacorp outlets.
On 30 January 2020, Mediacorp rebranded its digital media platforms Toggle, MeRadio and MeClub as meWATCH
meWATCH is a Singaporean digital video on demand service brand owned by Mediacorp. It was launched on 1 February 2013 as an over-the-top media service and an entertainment and lifestyle website Toggle.
On 1 April 2015, xinmsn, an internet por ...
, meLISTEN and meREWARDS respectively. The rebranding came as part of the broadcaster's "Made for You" initiative to build multi-platform services "designed around consumers' preferences and consumption habits".
Terrestrial stations
Television
Mediacorp operates six, commercially-supported terrestrial channels in Singapore, which broadcast in the fourofficial languages
An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...
of the country ( Singapore English, Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language ...
, Malay, and Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, na ...
). The company holds a monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...
on terrestrial television within the country.
Radio
Mediacorp operates eleven FM radio channels. The company'sdigital audio broadcasting
Digital radio is the use of digital technology to transmit or receive across the radio spectrum. Digital transmission by radio waves includes digital broadcasting, and especially digital audio radio services.
Types
In digital broadcasting ...
service was discontinued on 1 December 2011.
Digital platforms
meWATCH
meWATCH
meWATCH is a Singaporean digital video on demand service brand owned by Mediacorp. It was launched on 1 February 2013 as an over-the-top media service and an entertainment and lifestyle website Toggle.
On 1 April 2015, xinmsn, an internet por ...
(formerly Toggle) was launched on 1 February 2013 as an OTT service. On 1 April 2015, xinmsn
xinmsn was an Internet portal featuring various news and entertainment information for Singapore-based users. It was launched in March 2010 as a joint venture between MediaCorp and Microsoft, and replaces the old iteration of MSN Singapore.
Since ...
was merged with Toggle. It is Mediacorp's digital video service that redefines TV viewing, bringing Toggle Originals, catch-up content, live coverage of key national events, news, entertainment, and behind-the-scene exclusives to viewers across multiple devices – computers, tablets, smartphones, smart television sets, and digital media players.
meLISTEN
meLISTEN (formerly MeRadio) is an audio digital platform focusing on live audio streaming of Mediacorp's eleven radio stations as well as audiopodcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
s.
Mediacorp Partner Network
In 2018, Mediacorp launched the Mediacorp Partner Network. Under the MPN, Mediacorp signed agreements with brands like: * ESPN on 6 August 2018, where Mediacorp will be the exclusive representative for all ad sales in Singapore for ESPN.com, while ESPN will launch a dedicated Singapore edition of the ESPN site to deliver a mix of local sports news and features in addition to coverage of global sports. * 99.co on 29 August 2018 to create property related news and information for consumers. * Edipresse in November 2018 to co-develop content across digital editorial platforms, TV, live radio and events. Such content will be made available on both Mediacorp and Edipresse Media platforms, utilising the regional reach and influence of both companies. * VICE on 23 April 2019 to bring original VICE digital and TV content to a new Singapore audience via Mediacorp's multi-platform reach.Flagship programmes
Some of Mediacorp's flagship programmes include: *Star Awards
The Star Awards (Chinese: 红星大奖) are awards for artistic and technical merit in the media organisation Mediacorp of Singapore where Mediacorp recognises entertainers under their employment for outstanding performances of the year.
The ...
– Mediacorp's Chinese awards event
* 118 118 may refer to:
*118 (number)
*AD 118
*118 BC
*118 (TV series)
*118 (film)
*118 (Tees) Corps Engineer Regiment
*118 (Tees) Field Squadron, Royal Engineers
See also
*11/8 (disambiguation)
*Oganesson
Oganesson is a synthetic chemical element wi ...
– long-form Channel 8 drama. 255-episode 118 I aired from 2014 – 2015, 218-episode 118 II ran from 2016 – 2017, and a special 23-episode 118 Reunion aired in 2018.
* Tanglin – long-form Channel 5 daily drama that centred on the lives of multiracial and multigenerational families in a middle-income neighbourhood, in the Holland Village, Tanglin. The 823-episode show ran from 2015 to 2018.
* KIN – ongoing long-form Channel 5 weekends drama launched in 2018 (after Tanglin's conclusion).
* Getai Challenge – singing talent search competition that aimed to promote the Getai culture and discover aspiring Getai singers. Season 1 was shown on Channel 8 in 2015, and Season 2 in 2018.
* SPOP SING! – an initiative launched by Mediacorp in 2018 to showcase and curate local music compositions.
* Abang Teksi – Suria only Malay sitcom aired season 1 from 2017 and season 2 from 2019.
* Forensik – Suria drama and spin-off to Code Of Law Singapore launched in 2020.
Production
In 2000, ''MediaCorp Studios'' was created to produce content for MediaCorp TV channels, such as Channel 5, Channel U and Channel 8. In 2001, ''EagleVision'' was created to produce content for Suria and Vasantham. They co-produce programmes with regional broadcasters and production houses such as Media Prima Malaysia,Radio Televisyen Malaysia
Radio Televisyen Malaysia ( en, Radio Television of Malaysia, abbreviated as RTM, stylised as rtm), also known as the Department of Broadcasting, Malaysia ( ms, Jabatan Penyiaran Malaysia) is the national public broadcaster of Malaysia. Establi ...
, Radio Television Brunei, Eightgeman Taiwan and Taiwan Television.
See also
* Mass media of Singapore * Censorship in Singapore *List of programmes broadcast by Channel 5 (Singapore)
This is a list of programmes produced and broadcast on Mediacorp Channel 5, a television channel in Singapore. Lists of programmes includes those telecast when the channel was operated by Television Singapore, Radio Television Singapore (RTS), ...
* List of programmes broadcast by Mediacorp Channel 8
* List of programmes broadcast by Channel U (Singapore)
This is a list of programmes broadcast by Mediacorp Channel U.
News and current affairs
Dramas Local drama
Directional Debut Project (#Freshtakes)
These dramas are aired in hourly episodes, 9.00pm to 10.00pm at Mediacorp Channel U on 15 ...
* List of programs broadcast by Mediacorp Vasantham
Vasantham (TV channel), Vasantham is a Singapore Indian language (predominantly Tamil) entertainment free-to-view commercial broadcast television network owned by the Mediacorp, a subsidiary of Government of Singapore's Sovereign wealth fund, Tema ...
* List of programmes broadcast by CNA
*
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mediacorp 1937 establishments in the Straits Settlements Temasek Holdings Magazine publishing companies Newspaper companies of Singapore Mass media companies established in 1937 Mass media companies of Singapore Government-owned companies of Singapore Multilingual broadcasters Singaporean brands