The market portion of the Asia TV Forum officially kicked off today following yesterday’s Leaders Dialogue sessions, with some 5,000 execs from 60 territories expected to be on site in Singapore this week.
The opening ceremony featured remarks from Tan Kiat How, Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for digital development and information, who touched on AI and the training and support programs for content creators in the island nation.
“ATF is where talent and opportunities come together,” Tan said. “It is where we exchange insights and forge new partnerships that shape the future of entertainment across Asia.”
Tech and new narrative formats “are reshaping how stories are made and how they are experienced across the different screens,” Tan said, referencing the booming success of microdramas in the region. “Here in Singapore, we have been studying this trend closely, and last year, IMDA brought a group of producers overseas to understand the ecosystem and creative approaches behind these formats.”
Since then, the industry has embraced the trend, Tan said, referencing Mediacorp’s First Frames SG initiative, which attracted over 130 proposals. He also cited the Our Singapore, Our Stories initiative, supported by the Association of Independent Producers. “The project brought independent producers together to create bite-sized stories inspired by everyday Singapore life. And these efforts and many others show how our industry is beginning to experiment and adapt to formats in meaningful ways.”
On the role of AI, Tan said the Singapore government wants to help creators stay relevant as the landscape changes. “This is part of our people-first approach. As a small, open economy, we cannot insulate our industry sectors from technological changes. Instead, we focus on building capabilities so that our workforce can stay competitive and seize new global opportunities.”
Tan also discussed Singapore’s position as a “trusted co-production hub,” noting, “Singapore-based companies work with partners across Asia, Europe and beyond. This gives our talents access to larger markets, stronger financing, and global distribution while keeping a strong Singapore element in each project. We are seeing encouraging results.”
A string of successful film co-pros recently “form a solid foundation for the next phase of our plans to strengthen our talent pipeline and partnerships.” That next phase includes the launch of the Talent Accelerator Program, providing “end-to-end support for our media professionals, from developing strong ideas to producing content and taking it to international markets.”
“The government will invest S$200 billion in tech over the next three years. This is a major commitment to grow our creative talent, strengthen co-production partnerships and build a more resilient media industry. The focus is clear: to help our talent develop stories with global ambition from the very start. Under that, we take a clear, step-by-step approach to help our talents and companies progress across the full media journey from idea to screen to audience.”
There are three stages in the initiative, each “designed to strengthen both creative art and commercial strength.”
The development stage will match content creators with the needs of buyers and commissioners, delivering access to mentorships and master classes in story development, pitching and dealmaking. “This helps our teams sharpen their stories and shape ideas that are ready for the international market from the outset. At the same time, they build stronger project foundations from financing plans and distribution strategies to clear IP ownership. We will also deepen access to global streamers, platforms, international production houses, and showrunners. This allows our talents and companies to engage directly with the global market and increase their chances of success beyond Singapore.”
The second stage will cover production, with IMDA set to co-fund regional and global co-production across film and television. “This allows our companies to work with strong international partners, share risk, and combine strengths to produce content at scale. Over time, this strengthens Singapore’s position as a co-production hub in the region.”
The final stage is distribution; “We will help make-in-Singapore content reach the world. IMDA will elevate the profile of our content, talent and companies through a dedicated in-house marketing team. We will support selected projects with marketing funding to boost visibility and international reach.”
Ultimately, he said, “We want to support both distinctive ideas that can travel while staying grounded in our voice and identity. That brings all our support for talent and companies into a single unified program. It covers a full value chain from development, production, and distribution, so that promising ideas have a clearer pathway to reach global audiences. It also recognizes that film and television have different creative and commercial realities and is designed to help our teams capture the best value from both. With that, we aim to build a stronger pipeline of stories with global appeal, strengthen Singapore’s position as a co-production hub, and reinforce our role as a trusted creative partner in the region. Our industry is built on collaboration. Singapore has always been a place where regional and global creators meet, learn, forge partnerships, and co-produce. ATF and the Singapore Media Festival continue to be an important platform for these partnerships to be formed. By investing in talent, supporting companies, and nurturing new formats and IP, we can continue to build a resilient, future-ready industry. One that embraces innovation while keeping creativity the center of what we do.”
