For immediate release Media Release

Mediacorp commences phase two of its Mediapreneur incubator

Singapore, 27 January – Mediacorp is making a call for start-ups to join the second phase of its incubator programme, the Mediapreneur, to nurture high potential technology companies in the media industry.

This next phase builds on the positive momentum achieved by the Mediapreneur over the past year, as it continues to nurture seven start-ups admitted in the first stage. The seven represent diverse business including gaming, food, advertising, voice & video and travel and have a diverse profile of founders from Germany, France, Vietnam, India and China as well as Singapore.

Two of these start-ups have clinched commercial deals with Mediacorp’s business units. Spotted!, a company developing gaming ads, partnered with Channel 8’s Life, Fear not drama series to introduce a mobile game for viewers of the series. Infini Videos, a developer of video editing tools, is working with Mediacorp’s Digital Sales Solution unit to extend its platform to Mediacorp’s clients.

Tan Yingchun, CEO of Spotted! said, “The exposure offered by the Mediapreneur is phenomenal. We never dreamt that our games would become part of Channel 8’s drama series. Having access to Mediacorp’s platforms is certainly a big plus for our type of business which needs to reach out to a mass audience in a short time.”

Tracy Wong, Co-founder of Infini Videos said, “We are so grateful for the guidance of our mentors. They have been instrumental in helping us see our business more objectively and also connecting us to potential investors and customers. We could not have progressed this quickly on our own.”

Phase two of the new startups will be housed at the new Mediacorp Campus located at Mediapolis@one-north, right in the heart of Singapore’s innovation district. It is within walking distance of JTC LaunchPad@ one north, a nurturing environment for incubators and a vibrant community that generates ample opportunities for knowledge sharing and collaboration. Mediacorp Campus will be used as a regular networking venue for entrepreneurs, techies, investors and other players in the Singapore’s vibrant entrepreneurial eco-system.

One example of such networking opportunities is An Evening with Kauffman Fellows, jointly organised by Mediacorp and the Vertex-initiated Technopreneur Circle[1] . Kauffman Fellows is a well-known Silicon Valley leadership programme for global venture professionals.

Additionally, selected startups will be offered attractive media advertising packages to be used on Mediacorp’s media platforms such as TV, Radio, over the top interactive service, Toggle, TODAY newspaper and a suite of established magazine titles to effectively reach out to their target customers. This gives selected startups the quick marketplace launch to create awareness and brand recall of their products.

Mediapreneur startups will continue to enjoy the benefits of dedicated mentors who will guide them over their year-long incubation period, access to a larger mentor network of technologists, venture capitalists and business investors. They will have opportunities to work on projects with the many business units in Mediacorp and be able to participate in seminars, talks and events at the Mediacorp campus.

Dr Francis Yeoh, Executive Director of Mediapreneur said, “The Mediapreneur incubator operates differently from other accelerators in the marketplace. We believe that startups need more than three months to firm up their business model and achieve traction. Hence, we have dedicated mentors assigned to each startup to guide them each step of the way over the year-long incubation period.”

Mr Guillaume Sachet, Mediacorp’s Head of Strategic Planning said, “The entrepreneurs in these startups have the freedom to pursue their vision while benefitting from Mediacorp’s scale, resources, access to domain experts and opportunities for collaboration. Beyond that, Mediacorp’s offering of both the traditional and the digital media platforms helps them take their products to their targeted audiences quickly.”

The Mediapreneur is part of MediaCorp’s efforts to support the growing startup ecosystem in Asia and expand its own digital assets. In April 2015, MediaCorp invested in a 52 per cent equity stake in the KLN Group, an Indonesian digital media company which owns several of Indonesia’s most successful web portals including kapanlagi.com.

Applications for the Mediapreneur programme is open until Monday, 29 February 2016. Interested startups are invited to submit their applications at themediapreneur.com.sg. Shortlisted companies will be invited to pitch to the Mediapreneur Panel. Selected startups can expect to begin the programme shortly thereafter.

About Mediacorp

Mediacorp has the widest range of media platforms in Singapore spanning digital, television, radio, print and out-of-home media. Its mission is to engage, entertain and enrich audiences by harnessing the power of creativity.

Mediacorp pioneered the development of Singapore’s broadcasting industry, with the radio broadcast in 1936 and television broadcast in 1963. Today, the company has over 50 products and brands in four languages (English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil), reaching out to virtually all adults in Singapore weekly.

Mediacorp is an active regional player through Channel NewsAsia International, drama co- productions and collaborations in magazine publishing and online media. Its investments include majority share in Kapanlagi Network, Indonesia’s largest independent digital media and in Malaysia’s digital games publisher Cubinet Interactive. It also has stakes in Reebonz, one of the region’s fastest growing luxury online retailers, and Vietnam television’s International Media Corporation.

Mediacorp was named Terrestrial Broadcaster of the Year for the 12th time at the Asian Television Awards in 2015.

For more information, please visit mediacorp.sg.

Issued by Brand and Communications, MediaCorp