The Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) supports about 2,000 hours of public service broadcast (PSB) television programmes annually. Funded through the annual collection of radio and television license fees, the PSB programmes have allowed local producers to garner a growing portfolio of work and augment their revenue stream, but it is also an area of contention when it comes to progamme rights ownership.

Local independent producers want the rights to be able to market and exploit their content, but until October 2007 - the month when MDA changed the programmes rights framework - programme rights for these MDA-funded PSB programmes rested with the broadcaster, i.e. Singapore’s MediaCorp.

Noting that most of the PSB content remained untapped after their airing on broadcast television, MDA’s Chief Information Officer Yeo Chun Cheng explains the change in policy.

“Over the last two years, MDA and MediaCorp have been in discussions over how to unlock the value of PSB content to grow the media industry. An agreement was reached last year resulting in the programme rights for all fully-funded PSB programmes residing with MDA. This is in accordance with international best practices where programme rights are generally owned by the financier,” Yeo says.

“In cases where a programme is co-financed by the producer or other parties, the programme rights are shared on a pari-passu basis in accordance with each party’s equity contribution. As the broadcaster, MediaCorp is given a royalty free licence to carry the PSB programmes on its broadcast platforms and continues to retain the airtime and sponsorship revenue generated from the broadcast of PSB programmes,” Yeo continues.

What this essentially means is that with this transfer of rights ownership, producers of these PSB programmes can now obtain licenses from MDA under what the industry promotion and regulatory agency dubs “generous terms” to develop sequels, remakes, etc to the original content.

With its sights set firmly on the larger overseas market and its recent emphasis on Singapore content with the potential to travel, MDA expects that this move will be a stepping stone to greater commercial return on investment.

“As rights owner, MDA is now able to appoint distributors who are best able to represent the library of content so that these programmes can be enjoyed not only by Singapore viewers, but audiences overseas,” Yeo enthuses.

“In addition, programmes can be delivered beyond traditional broadcast platforms in keeping with fast changing media consumption patterns. This potentially extends the reach of each PSB programme and prolongs the content’s shelf life so that value can be delivered back to the public.”

Responding to MDA’s overtures, Adrian Ong, CEO of The Right Angle says, “It’s a first, big step. Now we can finally say that the domestic production scene is a creative business, and I’d emphasise ‘business.’”

“As a producer, we appreciate MDA’s support, but we also feel that in the industry, it’s nice to have your work appreciated without having to worry about the government looming over the rights issue. What we need regardless of ownership rights, is greater respect for the ideas that producers and creatives create,” adds Galen Yeo, CEO of The Moving Visuals Co.

Expressing his belief the previous regime resulted in the independent producers taking more of a “service contractor role, and not an content asset owner,” Tony Chow, president of Singapore’s Association of Independent TV Production Companies (AIPRO) elaborates, “By allowing independent producers to ‘buy back’ the rights of their programmes by way of license fees to produce a second season, or sequel, or prequel is a positive step forward to provide incentive for the local independent production players to further exploit the potential of their TV programmes.” AIPRO is an industry group advocating the interests of independent TV producers and counts more than 20 production companies as members.

And while Chow, like most players, offers his plaudits, he believes that two issues warrant a closer look.

“The requirement for the buy back of the programme rights towards producing a second season or sequel, or even prequel is that it must be produced within two years, or else, the license bought will be revoked,” he noted. “While this is not necessarily a harsh requirement, for smaller independent production companies, the abilities to secure the production for a second season, or sequel in terms of resources may be a huge challenge.”

Pointing to distribution as a second challenge, Chow added that “the fundamental benefit of securing rights for program is to exploit for returns by selling the programs in the markets. For independent producers, the quantities of contents will be lower, and it will be a challenge for them as indies to also distribute their own programs.” He disclosed that AIPRO is presently looking into a distribution collective to consolidate its production companies’ contents offering and to form a more holistic distribution pipeline to the international market place.

In terms of another country whose programme ownership regime is similar to MDA’s new framework, MDA points to the example of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), where the financier owns the rights. The Moving Visuals Co.’s Yeo, though, notes that the BBC and other UK channels finance programmes through a license and allows producers to go outside of the U.K. to exploit the rights of the show.

“This is the ideal model,” says Yeo. “And this was done to promote international trade out of the U.K. So we’re not quite there yet.”

Elaborating, Yeo adds, “There is always confusion in assessing the difference between IP rights and programme rights. In many cases, creators own the IP rights for coming up with the idea or concept. Investors own the finished programmes which they put money into.

“And in countries outside Singapore, channels that invest in the programmes only get the rights within the country and not in perpetuity. So producers can distribute outside their country and grow their business. Or if it’s a commission basis, they share some of the distribution revenue with their producers.”

Agreeing that there are many connotations of rights, AIPRO’s Chow clarifies, “Intellectual properties rights are the ownership of the concepts or ideas by a creator. This is to be separated from the programme rights, which is the ownership of the finished products. Ownership of rights can be subjective, and in most cases, it is an area of negotiation between the creators and the investors, be they broadcasters, financiers or distributors etc.”

“It is a common notion that creators’ intellectual properties rights are to reside with the creators as this is the value or asset that is lucrative for exploitation, but of course, in any negotiation, the investors will usually want to own as much for their investments, with the same reason of exploitation, to gain the maximum returns of the properties. Ownership of the IP is only as good as it is successfully exploited.”

Sanguine that the knots will eventually be worked out, Chow adds, “I believe as the industry matures, the issue of IP rights, underlying rights, programme rights, etc, will be resolved by itself. Even now, if a local producer goes to MediaCorp with a commercial idea that they can pitch successfully, and convince MediaCorp it will help their channel to gain advertiser revenue, MediaCorp will fund the show, and producers will ask to keep their IP rights, and if MediaCorp fund the entire production, they will ask to keep the programme rights to do what they want. And if the first season is a hit, or very successful, MediaCorp will go back to the producer to create second season, as the producer retains the IP rights—the concept that makes the first season successful.”

Fundamentally, The Right Angle’s Ong says that the change in policy bridges a gap between the local PSB production industry and the larger market outside.

“Producers here have been able to explore many business models outside Singapore. But until now, it’s largely been a commissioning, work-for-hire, model in our own backyard. Not really an industry when you come to think of it, because the rules of the game give players just a few meager tools to work with.”

“I’ve always felt like we work in two different industries—a local scene and the industry outside. And there were so little areas of overlap because the budgets are different, the rules were different. If producers can retain copyright to their ideas at nominal cost, at least ideas and formats that germinate at home, have a chance of crossing into the international industry.”

Reflecting on what more can be done, The Moving Visuals Co.’s Yeo offers, “What we need is wholehearted support that says – don’t worry about the nitty gritty, go out and create, and we’ll back you.”

“If we study how media industries have grown, they explode when you get behind talent. The Hong Kong movie industry got started because people decided to shoot movies, and did. It was a ‘Just Do It’ attitude that prevailed, and that is what we are missing to some degree in Singapore. Here, we are often waiting for government endorsement—in some way. So, this is an extension of the government’s endorsement. It’s not quite an endorsement to steam ahead 200 per cent—but it’s a small step.”

Indeed, when it comes to powering ahead and achieving growth and expansion of Singapore’s footprint internationally, this is where MDA—which has been a tireless promoter of made-by-Singapore content—and the equally passionate local industry players will find much common ground.

“This new model is different from what we had before, different from what some of us are used to outside Singapore, but it’ll be an interesting model to start experimenting with as a first step,” says The Right Angle’s Ong.

And as MDA’s Yeo affirms, “Ultimately, MDA hopes that this move will incentivise producers to create, invest in and fully exploit the potential of original content and formats.”

Giving his take on what this all means, AIPRO’s Chow surmises, “For too long, our local producers have honed their skills on local grounds, and thanks to MDA and MediaCorp for providing the opportunities, our producers are gaining stronger ground. I feel it is time, for all parties to work together, for a common objective of creating an internationally viable media sector, so the industry can grow. We cannot forever depend on MDA nor the public service broadcasting fund.”

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