New $48m fund to support Singapore-centric content production, AI experimentation

SINGAPORE – Local media firms can now tap a new $48 million fund that aims to support the creation of Singapore-centric content and experimentation with artificial intelligence tools.

The four-year Digital Content and Capability Development programme seeks to help media firms seize new opportunities in an industry with fast-changing audience consumption habits, said Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Tan Kiat How during the launch event on June 18.

“It’s not replacing human connections with AI or technology, but using AI to augment storytelling to reach out to new audiences, and to seize new opportunities in terms of the creative projects,” said Tan.

“The pace of change of technology is only going to accelerate...We in Singapore don’t have the luxury of pretending that these changes and environment drivers don’t exist.”

For content development, the programme aims to support media firms to explore new ways to create and distribute content to better engage with local audiences, said the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) on June 18.

“This includes supporting Singapore stories that can resonate with youth, adults and seniors through relevant formats and narratives,” said the authority.

It cited recent statistics from the Singapore TV Audience Measurement System, which found that 87 per cent of those aged 15 and above use social media video sites such as TikTok and Instagram on a weekly basis.

“Short-form videos, micro-dramas, and AI-assisted production workflows and AI-generated content are gaining traction, alongside a new generation of digitally native content creators reshaping how content is produced, distributed and consumed,” said IMDA.

Media firms that take part in the programme will also receive support to adopt new formats such as short-form episodic content, as well as new technologies and production approaches including using AI to generate content.

“It will also foster experimentation with and adoption of AI-assisted workflows for content development, production and localisation,” said IMDA, adding that this will allow media professionals to shift their attention to more creative tasks such as storytelling, crafting narratives and business development.

To tap the programme, companies will first need to be accredited by IMDA, which will assess the firms for their current content development capabilities, relevant experience and team structure.

The first batch of 117 media firms – including traditional production houses and digital media companies – received their accreditation earlier in April and May.

Accredited firms will then be eligible to respond to calls for proposals, which will need to detail the project’s creative concept, format, production approach, timeline, intended audience, distribution platform and projected local reach.

“Proposals will be evaluated based on the requirements and criteria set out in each call for proposal brief,” said an IMDA spokesperson.

IMDA will consider team capability, degree of innovation, relatability and relevance to the intended audience, among other critieria.

Chinese media entertainment agency NoonTalk Media, co-founded by host and actor Dasmond Koh, is among the first to receive accreditation for the programme.

Nearly 50 per cent of the media agency’s work is aided by AI today, said Koh. For instance, AI tools are used to generated short movies, manage finances and brainstorm for scripts.

He added that funding from the programme will help to lower the cost of developing the company’s production and story-telling capabilities, while still being able to finance ongoing projects.

Through the National AI Impact Programme, media professionals will also be able to use their SkillsFuture credits to attend a list of 55 curated courses announced on June 18 to use AI to automate content production.

These courses, listed on IMDA’s website, will teach core AI skills that can support writing, storytelling, content creating and audio production.

They include Generative Artificial Intelligence-Enhanced Social Media Content Creation, which teaches professionals to use AI tools to create short-form content for platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels. Participants will also learn to analyse metrics and engagement data to refine their content strategies.

The National AI Impact Programme, which was announced in February during the budget debate, aims to train over 100,000 non-tech workers with AI know-how to solve real-world work problems.