Channel NewsAsia has started the year with a bang. Besides launching a 24-hour feed in January, the channel also unveiled a new state-of-the-art studio at Singapore’s Marina Bay Financial Centre; a new on-air look; a new programming line-up; a new tagline “Understand Asia”; and opened up new bureaus across Asia.
The channel celebrated what it refers to as a “relaunch” with a champagne lunch at its new Marina Bay studio. Speaking to an audience comprising of partners, media and staff, Managing Director Debra Soon likens the refresh to a maturing young adult. “After 14 years, as most teenagers, we want to look hipper, edgier and sharper. But beyond the cosmetic, like most teenagers, we want to be older than we are. We want to be taken seriously so that we can club with the big boys, be up front and be noted.”
Chief Editor Lian Pek echoes Soon’s sentiments. “I think you need to look beyond some of these visuals. What I mean is it is not just a shallow rebranding exercise – we’re not just changing the wrapping on the channel. The wrapping paper changes because we are underlining our commitment to ‘understanding Asia’, which is what we are committed to for the long term.”
The switch to a 24-hour news cycle, up from the previous 20 hours, seems to highlight this desire and commitment to compete with the more established networks. Lian explains the impetus for going round-the-clock. “The new news cycle is premised on the fact that people are consuming media 24/7. So it’s not so much a case of having a morning newscast and evening newscast. We’re almost like a wire agency but broadcasting round-the-clock.
Essentially the point is to get the news to people as soon as possible, get what is relevant out there as quickly as possible.”
With this move into the 24-hour broadcast space, content across the board has increased – news content has grown by more than one-third; business news at prime time has more than doubled; and current affairs programmes have increased by nearly 30%.
A new daily additional news belt called News Pulse, from 12mn to 6am, which tracks world developments overnight for Asia with breaking news from the U.S. and Europe, has been introduced. On the business front; Asia Connect, a new one-hour lunchtime show bringing together the market action from every trading day in Mumbai, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore; and Business Central, a one-hour evening financial programme featuring key stories from the region’s financial hubs, are examples of new business-related programming.
Lian explains the network is doubling on business content because Asia has become the hotspot for business today, given how economies elsewhere around the world are declining. “We’re trying to provide more information for people who want to work in Asia, do business in Asia, invest in Asia and make money out of Asia.”
Beyond the news, Channel NewsAsia will also be airing more documentaries focused on Asia, and its dynamism and progress. Some examples are Power List Asia, which looks at the core of Asian success stories through interviews with top CEOs and tycoons; Extraordinary Asians, which profiles the exceptional Asians who inspire the community by contributing in extraordinary ways; and Boomtown Asia, which 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.
Major international events, from sporting meets to historical anniversaries, will also form part of Channel NewsAsia’s documentary strand. But the channel will explore them with an Asian viewpoint. “How we’re going to approach it is looking at how these events are going to impact Asia and analysing the impact on Asia. We’re looking at these events from an Asian perspective and the takeaway for people living in these parts of the world and how they’re going to affect our lives, our jobs and the way we live,” says Lian.
Furthermore, the expansion and investment in new bureaus, facilities and studios, also enables the channel to produce more original content and news stories. “At Channel NewsAsia, our emphasis is more on original, exclusive content,” says Rohana Mohd, Vice President of Network Programming Promotions. “We’re trying to build our Asian catalogue. So you will see more of original than acquired content.”
The channel’s new tagline, “Understand Asia”, accompanied by the refreshed on-air look, succinctly sums up the channel’s aim to help viewers gain a better understanding of Asia. Lian believes it reflects the channel’s unique position to deliver quality, in-depth information about the region to viewers.
“We are headquartered in Singapore and we have bureaus right around the region. We can get the news to viewers in Asia and beyond as soon as possible,” says Lian. “If you look at a lot of broadcasters, they are not committed to Asia the way Channel NewsAsia is. That’s our raison d’être but that’s not theirs. They are global news channels. We are a regional news channel trying to reach our regional audiences and we know this neck of the woods better than any other broadcaster.”
Channel NewsAsia’s newest studio at the DBS Headquarters, Marina Bay Financial Centre
This state-of-the-art studio is a result of Channel NewsAsia’s collaboration with DBS Bank. Day-time market reports and key interviews will be conducted out of the broadcaster’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.
