Singapore’s media sector has been performing strongly, posting a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.8%. In 2010, the industry contributed S$6.4 billion in value-added (VA) and S$23.9 billion revenue to the economy and employed some 66,000 workers. Singapore’s media sector consists of several industries, including TV broadcast and production; publishing and printing; film; music; as well as interactive and digital media.
Malcolm Rodrigues, CEO and cofounder of MyRepublic, said that the company is currently undertaking branding efforts to emphasise that it is a cloud-based internet platform company which looks to transform the telecommunications space. Rodrigues added that the company is also in the midst of concluding its search for agency partners to facilitate the branding process. Addressing why it refers to itself as an “Internet platform company”, Rodrigues explained that aside from broadband services, the company currently specialises in other products and services such as data analytics and monetisation, as well as access infrastructure.
Eyeing regional expansion
The company has also unveiled plans for regional expansion and IPO. It hopes to raise SG$100million, around 13.3% of which will go into marketing spend. Currently the company spends about 5% of its total revenue on marketing spend, and has an annualised revenue of SG$110million across the group. About SG$60million of the funds raised will go into its Indonesia expansion, and SG$40million into customer acquisition, which marketing falls under. Meanwhile, it looks to launch an IPO in end-2018, which will also contribution to its Indonesia expansion plans. MyRepublic is currently operating in markets including Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand and aims to expand in Southeast Asian markets. This includes markets such as Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Cambodia, to name a few.
The company has also unveiled plans to launch mobile services in Singapore by end of this year, allowing it to become a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). MyRepublic will achieve this through the wholesale buying of mobile bandwidth from existing telcos in Singapore. This would allow it to join the ranks of Circles Life, a current player in the MVNO market which operates by leasing bandwidth from M1.
MyRepublic started its marketing initiatives in 2015, which saw it hand out 1,000 free SIM cards which will be loaded with unlimited 4G mobile data for a limited period of three months starting from August 2015. A spokesperson for MyRepublic said that the SIM card hand-out is primarily a call for public participation.
Opening doors for the next generation
The first of its kind in Singapore, PIXEL (Promising Innovations and Experiential Learning) studios is led by IMDA as Nanyang Polytechnic manages the 25,000 sq ft space located at the Pixel building in One- North. Nanyang Polytechnic has been working with IMDA in nurturing talent in the Games industry since 2011. “With the PIXEL Studios up and running, NYP has expanded its role to not only help excite and inspire the gaming community but also the online video content creation community. Together with IMDA, NYP will help to discover and nurture talents in this media space,” says Jeanne Liew, Principal & CEO of Nanyang Polytechnic.
The name of the studio is derived by pixel which is the smallest unite of a digital image, and it represents the individual contribution in infocomm media and combining it with others in creative ways, amazing visuals are formed. IMDA focuses in empowering possibilities for Singaporeans through infocomm media and has been doing so in several ways such as providing grants to aid Singaporeans to transform their vision into reality and by bringing local and global companies together to create innovative content.
Minister for Communications and Information Dr Yaacob Ibrahim offi ciated the studios during the launch of PIXEL Studios during the third Singapore Media Festival. PIXEL Studios strive to build a community of creators and create opportunities for collaboration within the creative ecosystem with the range of facilities and resources provided by capability development programmes with industry partners. Minister Yaacob Ibrahim said, “Through the programmes, facilities and resources available, this will be a commonplace for content creators to meet with like-minded people from diverse backgrounds, across the media and tech sectors and experiment with new ways of media content creation and storytelling.”
The collaborative areas, production and technology tools at PIXEL Studios enable content creators to experiment and innovate with content and technology. The facilities include thematic spaces that can double up as sets for filming and production purposes. For example, the meeting and seminar rooms can be dressed up as a vintage diner, a kopitiamthemed area with a stage for meeting and presentations, a bar-themed area, a kitchen studio, a relaxation corner and screening area, hot desking spaces and make-up and changing rooms.
Compared to the former Games Solution Centre’s premise at Block 17, the current space is larger by forty per cent therefore catering to a larger community of game start-ups. There are 17 game start-ups housed at PIXEL Studios from January 2017. PIXEL Studios accommodates production and technology tools to support experimentation which includes a green screen studio equipped with professional video equipment, editing tools such as video post-editing recording and audio post-production suits, VR/AR gear and game engines.
PIXEL collaborates with established industry partners to present programmes to equip content creators with skills on how to create compelling content or build sustainable businesses through a variety of workshops, consultation sessions with experts, networking sessions and hackathons.
In December 2016, there were various workshops that took place. IMDA collaborated with Maker Studios on a creator-focused ‘bootcamp’ at PIXEL Studios to help local and international short form video creators to benefit from the two day event with filmmaking skills and collaboration on original content ideas. The event included 50 creators and filmmakers across gaming, comedy, music and lifestyle specialties. Global online stars such as Timothy DeLaGhetto, Strawburry17, Tanner Patrick, The Fung Brothers, and Michael Gallagher, along with local stars such as Jian Hao Tan, Wah!Banana and Xiaxue were involved in this event.
IMDA has also established new partnerships with Samsung, StarHub and StyleHaul, which will equip creators with skills and resources in digital content creation. These partnerships are in addition to the existing seven partnerships announced previously. Samsung will provide its latest virtual reality technology, Gear VR, and run training programmes conducted by experts. StarHub will open a call-for-proposal for the creative community at PIXEL Studios, to encourage the creation of innovative digital media content for StarHub’s various platforms. Leading global style network, StyleHaul will conduct monthly workshops titled “Beauty Creators Lab”, featuring sharing sessions by established fashion and beauty digital media content creators and industry experts, on topics such as YouTube channel optimisation, and beauty content inspiration.
