SINGAPORE - Pay-TV operator StarHub has been awarded funding for a second consecutive year to produce public service content.
It is only one of two platforms to receive such funding, with the other being national broadcaster MediaCorp.
Under the Public Service Broadcast (PSB) Contestable Funds Scheme, the Media Development Authority and StarHub will jointly set aside up to $10 million to create 80 hours of original local productions.
All content produced under the scheme will incorporate public service values, such as the enhancement of racial harmony and the promotion of a Singaporean identity.
With last year's $6 million in PSB funding, the operator produced content such as Pursuit Of Champions, an edutainment programme which followed Singaporean sportsmen who went overseas to chase their dreams, and Saturday Night Lights, a documentary about how football inspired a group of boys from broken homes and troubled families.
Content produced under the scheme will be showcased on StarHub's E City (StarHub TV Channel 111/825), and SuperSports Arena (StarHub TV Channel 112/205). The content will also be available online for free for six months.
Funding for such public service broadcasts increased sharply this year, with the budget from 2015 to 2019 jumping by 28 per cent to over $250 million in total.
From 2012 to 2014, only $195 million was set aside for such programmes.