Gov’t has pumped $380M annually to Mediacorp over the past 5 years

SINGAPORE: Over the past five financial years, the government has allocated about S$380 million annually to Mediacorp to support the production of public service broadcasts in Singapore’s four official languages.

Digital Development and Information Minister Josephine Teo revealed this in response to a question from a Member of Parliament, this week. She noted that the amount is roughly half the funding received by national broadcasters in Finland and Denmark, both of which have populations comparable to Singapore.

Ms Teo claimed that public service media play a vital role in informing, educating, and uniting Singaporeans by providing reliable and timely information, fostering a common ground for public discussion, and reflecting the nation’s multicultural identity and way of life.

When asked whether the authorities would consider adjusting the level of funding to boost the popularity of local content, Ms Teo explained that government funding is meant to support the overall operations of public service media organisations, rather than individual programmes. This approach, she said, allows broadcasters to remain flexible and innovative amid a rapidly evolving media landscape.

She also noted that the authorities have broadened the way they measure Mediacorp’s audience reach. Instead of focusing solely on television viewership, the assessment now includes the company’s reach across all platforms, including social media.

Ms Teo said this shift reflects changes in audience consumption habits and Mediacorp’s strategy to expand its presence across multiple platforms. Over the past decade, the broadcaster’s television audience reach has fallen by about 10 per cent, but unique viewership on its mewatch streaming platform has risen by roughly 80 per cent over the same period.