`Channel NewsAsia' to go regional in September

`Channel NewsAsia' to go regional in September

By K. Basrie

SINGAPORE (JP): Marking its first anniversary here, Channel
NewsAsia of the Singaporean government-linked Media Corporation
announced on Wednesday its ambitious multi-million U.S. dollars
plan to expand its broadcast to countries all over the Asian
continent and Australia beginning September.

MediaCorp chairman Cheng Wai Keung and Shaun Seow, chief
operating officer of Mediacorp News, which manages the channel,
said that the English language news channel decided to go
regional in an attempt to provide news and other information with
"an Asian perspective".

"We'll be spending US$100 million to $150 million over the
next five years on Channel NewsAsia," Keung told reporters from
several Asian countries here.

Seow explained that half of the fund would go to manpower
development and the rest would be used to finance technical
development, including rental fees for the satellites.

"We're finalizing deals with major cable operators and hotels
(in major Asian cities) to relay its signal from either the
Apstar or Palapa satellites," Seow said.

Currently, the channel which already has 20 correspondents and
crew in nine Asian cities including two in Jakarta, can be viewed
only in Singapore.

"We'll try to present the story of Asia in all of its
complexity. We're not saying that our perspective is better than
the rest. What we want viewers to see is another perspective so
that they can make better business decisions," Keung said.

At the moment, he added, the continent is inundated with
English language news networks originating from the West.

"Each with its own editorial (slant), depending on who owns
it."

"They are doing a very good job in reporting the main news,
but they seldom go beyond the Asian headlines. We don't hear
enough from Asians," Keung said.

Seow told The Jakarta Post a day earlier that CNA is not
attempting to compete with other leading news broadcasts, such as
CNN.

"No way," he said.

The channel attempts to offer a value-added service to the
viewers with more Pan-Asian voices, faces and programs.

"We'll talk with scholars about social, political and economic
issues within Asia. We want more Asian think-tanks and experts
talking on issues concerning Asia. We may also cover issues in
the West, the U.S., but with an Asian perspective."

Seow firmly believes that launching of the channel in
September would grab the attention of at least five million
viewers.

"We're hoping to build it (the audience) very, very quickly.
We're confident of success because of very good feedback from the
cable operators that we're talking with now," he said.

Indonesia

Seow said that people in Indonesia could receive the channel
through satellite dishes or from local cable operators, such as
Indovision.

"We're still talking with them (TV cable operators in Jakarta)
about the contract," he said, hoping that it could be agreed in
the next two months.

The launching of the Asian-feed channel, however, won't be
available to viewers in Singapore, a country which still bans the
use of satellite dishes.

"It's a commercial reason. The cable company (here) will of
course want to find a channel that is suitable for Indonesians,"
Keung explained.

He added that the company would soon open its door for
partners to run the project.

"We're looking for joint venture proposals. But in the
meantime, we need to set up our infrastructure," he said.

Besides its two crews in Jakarta, the channel's overseas staff
are currently working in Tokyo, Beijing, Hong Kong, Manila,
Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, New Delhi and Sydney.

It plans to have a crew in Taipei in the middle of this year.

"We also wants to have correspondents in Surabaya and Medan
soon," Sewo said.

For certain programs, the channel will broadcast the shows
with the sources using their local language, which would be then
translated in English subtitles.

Some of the programs will be taken from local television
stations or production houses.

The channel's programs cover general news, business, analyses,
travel, industry, investment, sports, and lifestyle, with
emphasis on Asia.

But many doubters say CNA is an ambitious project for Media
Corporation.

Yoshitaka Goto, a correspondent of Tokyo-based Jiji Press in
Singapore, said it would be very hard for this one-year-old baby
to lure viewers outside Singapore.

"In Japan, for example, the people are already familiar with
stations, such as CNN and NHK. So, it'll be very difficult work."
he told the Post.