S'pore to broadcast via satellite to Asia

S'pore to broadcast via satellite to Asia

SINGAPORE (Reuter): Singapore is planning to launch its own satellite television channel to broadcast Asian programs around the region, a senior manager at the Singapore Broadcasting Corp (SBC) said yesterday.

"We are looking at launching a satellite channel for distribution in the region, hopefully by the end of 1995," Lee Cheok Yew, SBC's assistant general manager, told the 1994 Pan Asia Television Industry Conference.

Lee, who will head the new Television Corporation of Singapore when SBC is privatized, said the new channel would broadcast programs produced in Singapore.

State-owned SBC will be broken up into various successor companies once the required legislation has passed parliament. "Ultimately, Asian programs specific to the various markets in the region, while serving domestic needs, will paradoxically also have a universal appeal," Lee said.