Singapore’s Mediacorp registered 120% growth in monthly video views on its YouTube drama channel  for full-year 2021. Online video views have soared for three years straight, and the national media platform has long moved past its former singular identity as a free-TV broadcaster. In her first broad-ranging interview since she became Mediacorp’s chief content officer, Virginia Lim talks about content and co-production direction, and the advantages and challenges of a broad remit that has to satisfy everything from streaming entertainment and digital content services to niche audiences and mass market public service broadcasting.

National media network and Singapore’s largest content creator, Mediacorp, has led an expansion of the country’s broader creative ecosystem, including a new approach to cross-border partnerships and relationships with domestic indies as well as expanding its story-telling range, skills and formats.

A little more than a year after she joined Mediacorp as chief content officer, Virginia Lim speaks about the content direction being set, the advantages and challenges of a broad remit that has to satisfy everything from streaming entertainment and digital content services to niche audiences and mass market public service broadcasting. 

Lim emphasises annual growth of 26% in monthly online video views over the past three years, 120% growth in monthly video views on Mediacorp’s YouTube drama channel in 2021, and the advantages of being “present at every relevant touch point of our consumers’ lives… we engage them anytime, anywhere through… Mediacorp-owned and third-party platforms,” she says, adding: “Content is content. You have to be on the right platforms so that your viewers don’t have to go around searching for you.” 

Mediacorp is also in high-gear on pursuing next-level content partnerships. “We believe strongly in partnerships,” Lim says; “We 
want to be working with the best in the industry in telling the most appealing stories”.

You started your career at Mediacorp, spent more than 10 years at Sony, then at streaming platform Viu, and now you’ve come circle, back to Mediacorp. What’s it like coming back to a free-TV environment?
“When I first returned a year ago, it felt like coming home, but it also felt very different. Mediacorp is not what it used to be 25 years ago when I was first there as a producer. Today we are no longer just a free-TV broadcaster. We have evolved into a multi-platform national media network. We are Singapore’s largest content provider. We produce programmes in four national languages – English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil – and operate six free-TV channels and our own video streaming platform, meWatch. We broadcast 1,000 hours of news and entertainment content a week and engage 95% of people in Singapore on a weekly basis across TV, radio and digital platforms, including YouTube.”  

“Digital platforms are key drivers of our businesses. Some data: We upload an average of 400 hours of new content a week on meWatch and have recorded annual growth of 26% in monthly video views over the past three years. On top of that, we stream over 2,000 hours of audio programming a week across our 12 radio stations on [digital audio platform] meListen.” 

“We aren’t focused on producing for free-to-air linear channels anymore. We are producing shows for non-linear platforms first, before they go to linear. We also have several channels on YouTube. Mediacorp’s YouTube drama channel recorded a healthy 120% year-on-year growth in average monthly video views for full year 2021. We are extremely customer centric. We are present at every relevant touchpoint in our consumers’ lives. This is the basis of our transformation success.” 
 
Where does Mediacorp fit in the production ecosystem in Singapore and around the region?
“We believe strongly in partnerships. We want to be working with the best in the industry in telling the most appealing stories and producing content that is fresh, intriguing and engaging.” 

“We work with a variety of partners, with established production houses, with independent content creators, and we also work with higher learning institutes because we want to keep a constant pipeline of new talent as well as, of course, growing existing talent in the industry, growing the ecosystem.”

“We have, for instance, worked with Wattpad to develop "Slow Dancing", which was a success with more than 60% of views from overseas. Our collaborations include "The Cutting Edge" and "After Dark". Both shows were written by Singapore Wattpad writers.” 

“Most recently, we have a co-production with Screenworks Asia in Taiwan for drama series, "Twisted Strings". These allow us to leverage each other’s strengths. We also work with independent content creators, including those from our multi-channel network, Bloomr.SG.” 
 
Is Mediacorp equipped to be an international co-production partner or is the mandate to be a primary producer or commissioner?
“We are open to all sorts of co-production. Ultimately, the end goal is content that appeals to viewers, content that can travel. Of course it has to make business sense, but ultimately it’s about the content that we are producing.” 
 
Is there a balance you have to maintain when producing in Singapore in terms of ethnicity and/or language?
“As national media network, there will always be a balance that we have to maintain. With digital platforms, we are able to experiment more... everywhere you go to produce a show will have regulations. So we have to strike a balance between being creative and compliance.”
 
Singapore has always been diverse and you’ve always catered to a diverse community, but you’re pushing the barriers in different ways. "Your World in Mine", about a family with a special needs son, is one of the latest examples. Why is this series special?
“This is a story very, very close to my heart and it clearly resonates with a lot of our audience in Singapore. It is a simple drama that shines a light on families with special needs children and their day-to-day challenges. Many of these are challenges that we don’t see or recognise... we may be quick to judge when we see a kid behaving differently, what we think is misbehaving. I’m a mother. I have that too. I’m particular about how kids behave... but sometimes we are not aware that they are special needs kids. The series received rave reviews and response from every platform – linear, digital, social...  we are humbled and grateful for the overwhelming response... for a content creator, this is the kind of response we want.” 

It looks like an extraordinary amount of work went into "Your World in Mine"...
“We did a lot of research. We worked with organisations that helped us to portray the characters... the story was pitched before my time, so it really was the production team that made it happen. Everyone felt very strongly about the show.”

Is Mediacorp able to participate in projects that have funding from other government agencies?
“Production funding, including grants, can be complicated. We are always willing to have that conversation though.” 
  
Mediacorp produces in multiple languages, including English. How has the streaming environment, which has opened up unprecedented opportunities for non-English-language content, impacted what you make?
“Language is no longer an issue. In today’s world, content goes beyond language. We are also moving away from producing in a particular language... There are ways we can produce with anyone in any language as long as it’s the right story for us.”

This feature appears in ContentAsia's December 2022 print magazine